Petite Maman

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1:33

Petite Maman

PG

2022

1h 15m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

218 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Céline Sciamma continues to prove herself as one of the most accomplished and unpredictable contemporary French filmmakers with her follow up to PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, the uniquely emotional, PETITE MAMAN. Following the death of her beloved grandmother, 8-year-old Nelly accompanies her parents to her mother's childhood home to begin the difficult process of cleaning out its contents. As Nelly explores the house and nearby woods, she is immediately drawn to a neighbor her own age building a treehouse. What follows is a tender tale of childhood grief, memory and connection.

Critics Consensus

Small in narrative scope but deeply impactful, Petite Maman is a delicate, powerfully acted meditation on grief.

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Christina Newland

iNews.co.uk

09/19/2024

4/5

A quiet but powerful tale of grief, family love, and the mysterious world of childhood friendship.

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Scout Tafoya

RogerEbert.com

12/23/2022

Relentlessly touching...

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Alissa Wilkinson

Vox

08/05/2022

Petite Maman is a pithy, gemlike film.

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Hector A. Gonzalez

The Movie Buff

09/08/2024

B+

Petite Maman is a sweet, tender, and fairytale-esque film that focuses on grief and escapism during your childhood. Even though it is only 72-minutes long, it is wholly enchanting and poignant.

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Greg Carlson

Vague Visages

11/08/2023

Sciamma’s handling of the interactions between the kids is as confident and as beautifully realized as the depiction of relationships in Water Lilies, Tomboy and Girlhood.

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

10/06/2023

4/4

There are some hard adult truths, but the film is so filled with little notes of grace and tenderness that it leaves us with the sense that the world has much more wonder than sadness, more connection that isolation, more hope than cynicism.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Dec 30

Success in 1.25 hours!!!!!!!!! Rated PG for Some Thematic Elements and Brief Smoking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The worldwide gross is $1,990,331.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In French (France) with American English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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charming m

@el_Villano Aug 20

Clever. Intelligente. Céline can do no wrong even with a simple premise and child actors. They are simply mesmerising, by the way.

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Julian Rex M

@Julian_M Jul 17

Simplistic but brimming with understanding and love, Petite Maman is an initially convoluted meditation on relationships that easily settles into beautifully even, decidedly thoughtful form.

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Martona T

@RT52717972 Jul 5

A tender movie where the child's perspective on relationships, loss and world in general is utterly touching. It doesn't follow conventions, it's narration is very autonomous and independent.

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Peter G

@Petermovielover 06/08/2025

A gentle & immensely moving film with imaginative elements of magical realism which will stay with me probably forever. An eight year old girl who felt unable to say farewell to her fatally ill grandmother comes to a better understanding of her own mother‘s grief & depression. Revealing how all this comes about would spoil the subtle impact which she experiences when visiting her grandmother‘s & her mother’s own childhood home. There in the woods she meets a girl her own age with the same name as her mother & the ensuing revelations are magical indeed. The two young actresses are twins in real life & their interaction is beautiful to behold. A wonderful, unique & emotionally involving film experience quite unlike any other that I have seen in recent years. Reviewed by Peter Graham

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Esra Y

@RT95409318 04/09/2025

I feel the movie would've become richer if script were to include adult Marion's inner turmoil, nevertheless a wonderful, delicate movie.

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Céline Sciamma

Director

Nina Meurisse

La mère

Margot Abascal

La grand-mère

Stéphane Varupenne

Le père

Joséphine Sanz

Nelly

Gabrielle Sanz

Marion

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Petite maman: Trailer 1

1:33

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Synopsis

Céline Sciamma continues to prove herself as one of the most accomplished and unpredictable contemporary French filmmakers with her follow up to PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, the uniquely emotional, PETITE MAMAN. Following the death of her beloved grandmother, 8-year-old Nelly accompanies her parents to her mother's childhood home to begin the difficult process of cleaning out its contents. As Nelly explores the house and nearby woods, she is immediately drawn to a neighbor her own age building a treehouse. What follows is a tender tale of childhood grief, memory and connection.

Director: Céline Sciamma
Producer: Bénédicte Couvreur
Screenwriter: Céline Sciamma
Distributor: NEON
Production Co: Lilies Films, France Télévisions, Canal+, Ciné+, France 3 Cinéma, La Région Île-de-France
Rating: PG (Some Thematic Elements|Brief Smoking)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2022, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $819.8K
Runtime: 1h 15m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)