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Fresh, attentive, and emotionally shattering, the French film Ponette is an attempt to enter the world of a 4-year-old girl whose mother has just been killed in a car accident on one of the winding roads in the mountainous countryside near Lyon. Played by pudgy, sad-eyed Victoire Thivisol (winner of a controversial but perfectly understandable Best Actress award at the 1996 Venice Film Festival), Ponette turns her grief into something else, something more childish and yet more mature. Convinced that her mother has been visiting her in her dreams, and that some day she will return in flesh and blood, Ponette invents a religion for herself with the specter of her mother at its center.

By keeping his camera eye level with his young actors (who include Matiaz Bureau Caton and Delphine Schiltz as Ponette's know-it-all cousins) and miking the children so closely that their voices have the presence and authority of grown-up speech, director Jacques Doillon taps directly into the private world of childhood. The rolling landscape that extends for Elysian miles behind the characters gradually shifts from green to brown over the course of Ponette, suggesting the presence of death in life, and also the eternal cycle of the seasons that will allow life and love to return. --Dave Kehr ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Thivisol is indeed "a child of God"....
I can't tell you how long I've waited to get my hands on this movie. After trying to order it twice and asking many times in the video store, I finally got it as a rental.

How refreshing it is to see how far a child's perspective and emotions can carry a film.

After seeing so many enormous reviews for this movie, I had huge expectations. I was not disappointed. It has an amazing way of taking a simple enough storyline, adding a whole lot of emotion and various characters with their own beliefs, and creating an incredible film that speaks directly where it needs to speak.

"Ponette" has the immensely talented Victoire Thivisol carrying on the title role in the story of a four-year-old little girl. Traumatized after living through a car crash that killed her mother, Ponette is sadly forced to undergo more human pain and suffering than any child her age--or any grown human being, for that matter--normally should go through. Her emotions are thoroughly misunderstood by her estranged father and the other people in her life. While she is worlds apart from her cousins, her peers, and her entire family, she immediately clings to the idea that she can communicate with her mother and see her again. But with everyone around her giving her different viewpoints and various outlooks on God, it is often much more than this little girl can handle herself. Only through a very strong and important vision can Ponette finally discover a sense of peace and understanding and, most importantly, be able to go on living her young life.

Victoire Thivisol.......WOW! what is there to say about this tremendous little actress that has not already been said? She is absolutely incredible. This is not just a young actress--this is a four-year-old child kicking off her acting career with an extremely complex, emotional, and STARRING role. To get a child this young to do the kind of things that the script called the character to do is just unbelievable. After pulling off this kind of challenging role with such a natural and passionate ability, I'd have a hard time believing that there's any type of acting that Thivisol can't handle. As stated in the film, she is a true "child of God" with tremendous potential in the acting business. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want to work with her after seeing her performance in such a hardcore, moving role.

With this being said, I have to warn you that you need to watch this film with an open heart, and not a mind with such high expectations. After hearing such good reviews, I expected this film to be the absolute most incredible piece of moviemaking in the world. Literally. You need to let go of all that and just absorb yourself in little Ponette's world. Watch it another time if you need to; only through a wide-open heart can you truly get as much out of this movie as possible.

The only part about the film that made me a little skeptical was the way Ponette's mother was presented. "You are nutty but nice. Stop crying; stop complaining. I can't stand a crying child." Somehow, through these words, she is almost telling her little daughter that her emotions and her ways of expressing them are unnatural and unacceptable. What kind of parent would say this to their four-year-old child who is under such emotional distress and does not understand why she can't be with her mother? It seems like Ponette's superiors are all oblivious to her pain and do not know how to help her, let alone simply allow her to grieve. I mean, come on--she's not feeling sorry for herself; she's in PAIN--deeper pain than some people never know in their whole lives.

Nonetheless, this is Ponette's story, and nobody else's. It allows her to share what SHE is going through and tell the story of how she, as a four-year-old child, is coping. It is an emotional headfirst plunge into her distraught life and her personal attempt to put her mother right in the center of a religion that will allow eternal interaction between her and the beloved parent she has lost. Maybe you'll cry, maybe you'll go and hug your mom, maybe you'll use what you learned to make your life better and more liveable. No matter how you react to this movie, however, you will most likely be genuinely touched and forever changed by Ponette's lesson. It's a film centered around children--very young children--but don't doubt their amazing ability to teach you. Children are, in certain ways, some of the best teachers out there. Ponette has a lesson to share that humankind is not meant to forget. Rent it...buy it...do whatever you can to make sure this movie makes it straight to your heart, because once you watch it, that's just where it will go.

STUNNING AND CAPTIVATING
One of the guys who works at a local video store that I frequent, when I asked about this film, said 'It's probably the saddest film ever made.' Whoa. That's a pretty strong statement, and it further tweaked my curiosity. When I finally got around to watching it, I could see where he was coming from - but there's a lot more to this fine piece of filmmaking than that. This is definitely one of the most moving films I've ever seen - and the performance by 4 year-old actress Victoire Thivisol (who portrayed Anouk in CHOCOLAT so well, 'later in her career') is absolutely stunning. I saw the blurb on the cover touting her 'best actress' award at the Vienna Film Festival for her work in PONETTE - it's easy to see why.

Written and directed by Jacques Doillon, PONETTE tells the story of a very young girl coming to terms with grief and death - hard enough for anyone, but her first experience centers on the death of her mother in a car accident. Ponette was in the car as well - she wears a cast on her left arm for the entire film - so she has that trauma to deal with also. Her father isn't around much - he leaves her in the care of her aunt Claire - and when he's with Ponette, he seems to have difficulty exercising empathy and understanding with her, which could easily be due to his own grief over the death of his wife.

With the help of her cousins, her aunt, a few understanding schoolmates, a very sensitive and kind teacher, and the strength of her own spirit, Ponette makes the journey to healing. Getting conflicting advice on death and religion from several quarters, she searches for the path that resonates with truth within her. The performance Victoire Thivisol turns in here will astound you - I can't recall ever seeing a child this young in a role so demanding do such a fine job.

The ending - to which some reviewers have taken exception - worked into the film nicely, I thought. Much of an individual's objection to it (and I won't spoil it) has to do with his or her own beliefs and feelings - but I thought it fit the story here very well.

A minor note -- the information on this product page is a little confusing. It says 'color/widescreen/Dolby', and then in the 'further details' page says 'full-screen' under 'features'. The film is in full-screen format on the DVD -- but this certainly doesn't detract from the enjoyment of it.

All in all - I can recommend this film VERY highly, but as another reviewer wisely advised, have a box of tissues handy.

About belief, magic and coming to terms with grief
This is quite an amazing film; the lead actress is Victoire Thivosol ("Chocolat"--Anouk) who gives an award-winning performance at the tender age of 4 years old. She plays Ponette, the young daughter of a woman killed in an auto accident. Her father, unable to deal well with the loss himself, leaves Ponette at an aunt's and ultimately at a children's school. During the school days and the weekends with her cousins, Ponette deals with the horrendous loss. She seeks her own form of belief, and is bumped around by all the other children, who good-naturedly or not try to share their own beliefs and magic gestures to make sense of the world.

The ending doesn't please everyone but I liked it, especially for the cameo role played by Marie Trintignant. The camera angle is interesting throughout--tight and close and at child-level. We see the world up close and at Ponette's viewpoint, adding to the feeling of being overwhelmed and buffeted by life.

This film is well-deserving of the many awards it received and Victoire Thivisol is nothing short of amazing. Definitely see this one.

Beautiful, miraculous, perfect
What a movie! And what a performance by the little girl in the title role. Having been a professional actor for many years, I can tell you without reservation that I have never ever seen a child of four give a performance such as this. This is the story of a little girl who, after her mother is killed in an automobile accident, must somehow come to terms with her grief, lonliness, and her powerlessness. She also must somehow make sense of a world she does not fully understand, and a God she seemingly cannot communicate with. It is all done from the child's point of view, and beautifully and sensitively portrayed. I laughed and wept, but am still, after many viewings, totally in awe. I can't imagine anyone not being touched by this film.

a film to remember
I saw this movie when it was playing in select theaters while on vacation. I sat there alone at the theater just there to relax. I had read great reviews about the film - but was not prepared for just how much this film would mean to me. I cried and laughed and understood along with Ponette and her friends - there in the movie theater. A couple of years later, my own father passed away of who I was extremely close to. Even though I was already an adult, watching Ponette a couple years prior came into my memory when dealing with my fathers death. I could relate to the way people around me tried to "help" me deal with the passing - to how Ponette's friends and family also helped her. If you've ever lost a parent or someone very close to you, this movie will pull at your heartstrings..and will become a friend to you knowing that you're not alone in having to cope in your own unique way.
I recommend this movie to everyone (even those who have not experienced death of a loved one). The child actors are AMAZING, it's like they aren't acting and this is just a home video. I recently watched Chocolat (without paying attention in advance to who was acting in it) and Anouk's face was sooo familiar to me. I couldn't wait to see the ending credits to confirm it was Victoire Thivisol - the little girl who played Ponette. She's an amazing actress! ... Read more

Description

Jacques Doillon, director of the wildly loved Ponette, has crafted a wonderful follow-up, the gritty and authentic, yet also unexpectedly lyrical and buoyant Petits Freres. Talia, a 13-year-old girl who is already battle-weary from fighting with her mean stepfather, runs away from home with her beloved dog Kim. She meets up with a group of four boys her own age who take a grudging liking to her, which doesn't stop them from secretly stealing and selling Kim. Talia, distraught over the disappearance of her pet, strikes an uneasy alliance with the boys in an attempt to rescue Kim. Soon Talia and her gang of "petits freres" (little fellas) find real friendship and common humanity in their harsh surroundings. ... Read more