PETITE MAMAN

 

Like most fans of international cinema, I was absolutely bowled over by the beauty and raw emotional power of director Celine Sciamma's heart-wrenching love story, “Portrait of a Woman on Fire” which was released in 2019. The film is an out and out masterpiece, and in any other year it would have taken out the top spot of my “Top Twenty Films of the Year” list, but 2019 was a special year in film, and it only came in at number three. No matter where it placed, my opinion holds true that the film is a masterpiece, and as such I was eagerly anticipating whatever Sciamma came out with next (not to mention to catch up with the films that she had made previous). She has now returned with the smaller and much more intimate family drama “Petite Maman”.

Eight year old Nelly has just lost her grandmother, and together with her mother and father, she is helping in the packing up of the old woman's house. Being back in her childhood home, Nelly's mother is overcome with emotion and finds the task increasingly difficult. Nelly chooses to explore the woods that back on to her grandmother's property, the location of many of her mother's childhood stories. Whilst playing in the woods, she happens to come across another young girl building a hut amongst the trees. The two girls exchange pleasantries before Nelly returns home fearing her parents would be worried. She spends the night talking to her mum who is reminiscing about her childhood, thanks to the many memories flooding within her. When Nelly wakes, her mother is gone. The memories were too much, leaving just Nelly and her father to finish the job. Nelly heads out into the woods and meets the other girl again. They are both the same age, and quickly become friends. However with Nelly only being in the area a short time to clean out her grandmother's home, it can only be a brief friendship, so the two girls make the most of every minute that they have together.

Whilst Celine Sciamma is working on a much smaller canvas here than she did on “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, she has once again struck gold with “Petite Maman”. It is such a beautiful and gentle little film that deals with memory, saying goodbye to loved ones, and moving on with life while never forgetting how much that person meant to you whilst they were alive. I absolutely loved this film, so much so that I have already seen it twice. The film opens with a lovely scene of Nelly going around saying goodbye to all the other elderly women that were in the same nursing home her grandmother was in. The scene has further poignance later on in the film when we learn that Nelly is upset that she didn't say goodbye properly to her grandmother before she passed. Her mother tells her that she always said goodbye, but Nelly said that if she knew it would be the last time, she would have made it more meaningful.

With “Petite Maman” Sciamma is returning to themes she has explored in earlier films but the two girls, Nelly and Marion, are her youngest protagonists yet. The girls are played by twin sisters, Josephine and Gabrielle Sanz, and they are just outstanding. Sciamma has always been able to get impressive performances out of children in her past films, but the Sanz girls are in a whole other class. They both come across so natural, believable and so full of life. I also defy anyone to not have their heart melt when the two girls giggle infectiously whilst playing together or making pancakes. Josephine Sanz has the larger role playing Nelly, and as such also has to display a larger gamut of emotions, but I cannot remember a scene where it feels like she makes a false step once. Smartly, Sciamma in her role of costume designer has colour coded the girls, with Nelly mostly dressed in shades of blue and Marion in red, so although both girls look very similar, we are never confused as to who is who.

Speaking of colour, “Petite Maman” has been shot in gorgeous autumn colours. The film is filled with gold, yellow, browns and oranges. Whilst you would assume that these colours would only exist out in the woods, the colours inside the grandmother's house mirror those that are outside. The use of autumn is not just an aesthetic choice either, as the season is very symbolic for change, which is something all of the characters are going through here. Sciamma has re-teamed with her “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” cinematographer Claire Mathon for “Petite Maman”, and like that earlier film, Mathon has used very soft lighting whilst capturing her gorgeous images. Something I have noticed while going through Celine Sciamma's earlier films is that she has a distinct set of themes that she often tackles, usually adolescent themes, but it was not until her collaboration with Claire Mathon that she really exploded in a more artistic sense. Content wise, all of her films have a uniformity to them, but with both “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and now “Petite Maman”, her films now have an extreme visual beauty to them too.

When I went into “Petite Maman” the first time, I was expecting a gentle drama, with a particular focus on the little girl. However I was blown away when a very special twist in the story is revealed to the audience. I just was not expecting it at all, but I had the biggest smile on my face when it came to light, and even more so when the twist works so well throughout the rest of the film. I have been fighting with myself over whether or not to reveal the twist in this review, because in doing so it opens up so much more of what I can talk about in regards to the film. However after much consideration, I have decided that I will not say anything about it at all other than to say that it is a lovely example of “magic realism” within cinema. I also loved the fact that one of the girls actually understands what is going on and how the story evolves because of this.

This obviously now leaves me with less to say about “Petite Maman”, but it is a film that has been expertly put together. The production design of the house is particularly well done because it is memorable without being showy. Things like the style of wallpaper that exists behind a cupboard (as the parents amusingly painted around said cupboard when they painted the wall), or the blue tiled bathroom, all implant in our memory without bombarding our senses. Music doesn't play a big part in the film, but the moment Sciamma finally lets it takeover is yet another sublime moment from this super talented director. Whilst the moment isn't quite as memorable as the campfire scene on the beach in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, it isn't far off from it.

While “Petite Maman” may look from the outside a gentle drama, thanks to the light touch Sciamma uses in telling her story, there is a sadness and sense of melancholy that permeates the whole thing. Not one person cries in the film, but the heaviness that the death of a loved one brings is always present. There are also moments during the film when Nelly is talking to Marion that add to that sadness. For example, there is a hint that Nelly's mother may actually suffer from depression (Nelly being a child and not fully understanding the illness, feels she may be the reason behind it), or when Nelly starts to think that having her, cost her mother her dream of becoming an actress. I should stress, this is not a sad movie, and you will likely leave the film with your heart bursting with a form of happiness, but like reality, that doesn't mean that a sadness doesn't exist at the same time. There are no villains in this film, no one is horrible to anyone else, in fact all we see is love expressed to all of the characters; sometimes life can be hard, and that is okay.

Finally, I just want to mention the ending of the film which, similar to the opening, is just lovely. It ends on Nelly's mother's beaming smile for her daughter which just feels so perfect in the context of the whole film.

Overall, I went into “Petite Maman” expecting a small, but beautiful drama about childhood, but I ended up getting so much more, and was pleasantly surprised by the film's twist. Director Celine Sciamma has returned to the smaller canvas of her earlier films and to the adolescent themes within them, but has created an exquisite and heart warming film that sits wonderfully next to her masterpiece, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”. The twin girls who play the lead roles of Nelly and Marion are outstanding, and oh so bloody cute too (but not in an annoying way). There is so much more that I would love to say about this brilliant film, but without ruining the surprise for others, I cannot, so I will just say that I absolutely adore this film. I believe that Celine Sciamma (together with cinematographer Claire Mathon) is a director currently working at the top of her game, and once again, I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next. Yes, “Petite Maman” is a little film, but it is packed full of emotion and humanity, that I hope anyone who gets a chance to see it, does so.

4 Stars.

 

HALLOWEEN KILLS

 

This October finally saw the release of the latest instalment of the Michael Myers saga, “Halloween Kills”. Originally slated this time last year, the film suffered the same fate as many others when the COVID-19 pandemic forced cinema doors to shut, causing the film to be delayed. With the original 1978 “Halloween” being my favourite all time film, it goes without saying that I am a big fan of the series and of Michael Myers himself. However, do not be fooled, my love for the series does not blind me from the fact that the majority of the sequels are really not very good, nor of the fact that with all of the remakes and re-imaginings within, the series has some of the most convoluted and confusing timelines of all the classic horror franchises (with the possible exception of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” which borders on the ridiculous).

Drawing inspiration from the original sequel from 1981, “Halloween Kills” takes place on the same night, continuing on from where 2018's “Halloween” left off. Michael is trapped in a burning house to what appears to be his death, whilst Laurie Strode (along with her daughter Karen, and granddaughter Allyson) is riding in the back of a pick up truck, bloody and bruised from her encounter with the vicious killer. Whilst bleeding profusely, Laurie is content with the fact that she has succeeded with what she set out to do: end “The Shape's” reign of terror, once and for all. However, the sound of speeding sirens destroy that illusion as Laurie realises that those fire trucks could only be heading to one place. As to be expected, when the firemen arrive Michael uses them to help him escape the fiery inferno, and to continue the bloodbath he had only just begun. And after finding himself tricked into a trap, Michael seems more pissed off then ever, killing anyone and everyone who stands in his way. When word gets out that Michael is alive and still killing, the residents of Haddonfield decide that enough is enough; they will no longer play the victims, rather they band together to hunt and kill Michael, led by Tommy Doyle and Lindsey, the survivors of Michael's original night of terror back in 1978 when they were both kids. Suddenly, the hunter has become the hunted.

Whilst it was no classic, I felt that the 2018 “Halloween” directed by David Gordon Green, did a lot right with the material. They got the look, feel and movements of Myers down perfectly, especially with the mask and visually, the film also felt like a continuation of the original 1978 film. With the same creative team returning for “Halloween Kills”, I was quietly optimistic that the film would turn out pretty great, but there was also a part of me that knew that being the middle chapter of a trilogy (the final part, “Halloween Ends”, is due out next October), it also had the potential to be seriously underwhelming particularly with its ending, which would clearly be setting up another film. As it turns out, all of this ended up being true. At times the film is just brutal and fantastic, whilst in other moments it can also be incredibly embarrassing and cringe-inducing.

“Halloween Kills” starts like gangbusters though. The opening twenty or so minutes are just sensational, and I could not have been any happier whilst watching it. Michael's vicious encounter with the firefighters is something to behold, as he is angrier than we have ever seen him. After this onslaught, the film then flashes back to 1978, where we are witness to scenes of Michael and the police attempting to hunt him down, soon after he disappeared after being shot by Loomis and falling from a balcony. Director David Gordon Green has done a truly outstanding job of recreating the look and feel of the original film perfectly. Michael's mask (which is whiter and cleaner, without the ageing and damage from the present day version) looks just like it did in the 1978 film, as do all the little details in the Myers house, right down to the broken glass. It was such a nice surprise to be back on that original night, but with moments we have never previously seen before, and for it to all feel true to what had come before it. This sequence is then topped off with the most unexpected character cameo that would make any “Halloween” fan beam. At this point in the film, I felt like I was watching the best “Halloween” sequel that had yet been produced.

When “Halloween Kills” was actually being made, the marketing of the film focused on the fact that it was going to feature the return of a number of characters from the original film, with some being portrayed by the very actors who played those same roles way back in 1978. Charles Cyphers and Nancy Stephens return to play Leigh Brackett and Nurse Marion respectively, with newcomers to the series Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Longstreet playing new adult versions of Tommy Doyle and Lonnie Elam. Probably the biggest casting coup though was getting Kyle Richards to return to her role of Lindsey, the little girl terrorised by Michael back in “Halloween”. When word got out that these characters were to form a vigilante group intent on hunting and killing Michael, excitement grew, as it was something new being added to this long running franchise. Sadly the idea worked better on paper than in reality, because this element of “Halloween Kills” is the worst aspect of the film. Nothing is done with this potentially interesting idea. Instead we are subjected to numerous overlong scenes of unlikeable characters chanting “Evil Dies Tonight!!”. The inclusion of these iconic characters from the earlier film are also pointless with none of them developed further to be any kind of real character outside of being fodder to Michael's bloodied blade. The biggest tragedy though is the use of Tommy Doyle, the sensitive young boy from the original film who was terrified of the “boogeyman”. Here he is nothing more than a thug, willing to beat or bash anything that “could” be Michael Myers. I also felt bad for Leigh Brackett, the town's former Sheriff who is now a past-his-prime ageing security guard at the hospital Laurie is taken to. The inclusion of these legacy characters seems more like nostalgic lip service to the fans of the “Halloween” series, rather then the creators of “Halloween Kills” having any real story for these characters to exist in organically. To be fair, I actually think that the vigilante aspect of the film is a great idea, and one that I was excited about, and to include the original characters within that vigilante group was icing on the cake. I also think that David Gordon Green and his writers are attempting to make some point on mob mentality and how we as humans and what we are capable of, are just as scary as anything Michael does, however it is so poorly and clumsily handled that the situation holds no gravitas whatsoever. It just feels like rednecks looking for anyone to throw a punch or swing a baseball bat at.

The other problem with the vigilante angle is that it takes up so much of the film's running time, that there is then no time for the Strode family's story. They are essentially pushed aside, with Laurie suffering the most neglect, to the point that “Halloween Kills” is the only film in the series when Laurie is involved, to not have the character interact with Michael Myers. That's right folks; Laurie and Michael have no scenes together. In fact, Laurie spends a large portion of the film unconscious, but when she is conscious, she is spouting off ridiculous monologues on the power of Michael, and how he is the personification of evil and how he has now transcended. These scenes are terrible because she doesn't speak how any normal person ever would. Ok, I get she is drugged up with large doses of pain medication, but these scenes have been so embarrassingly written. In fact, as much as I hate to say it, the entire film is poorly written. Compared to the 2018 film, it feels like a total rush job to make a release date (which in hindsight is ironic). The script is filled with some mind-numbingly bad lines or dialogue exchanges between characters. One of the worst examples is when Lindsey turns to Tommy and says “I need a car”, and he hilariously replies “I have a car!”. Tommy's exchange with Laurie too when he tells her “you protected me that night forty years ago, now tonight I protect you” (I am paraphrasing there) was just terrible. However the worst and most inappropriate use of a once classic line goes to Leigh Brackett who, after Michael is surrounded by the vigilante mob, screams at the killer “It's Halloween! Everyone is entitled to one good scare!”. Um, what? When he first utters that line to Laurie after she bumps into him in the original film, it makes total sense, but what the hell does it mean in this context?!?!

One aspect where “Halloween Kills” does excel in is in its use of music. John Carpenter's score (along with his son Cody, and further collaborator Daniel Davies) is just outstanding and captures the mood perfectly. I was actually disappointed with the music in 2018's “Halloween”, but I thought it was magnificent in this sequel. I particularly loved what Carpenter did with the scenes set back in 1978 where he reverted back to what I would call the “analogue” versions of the musical themes, that then becomes “digital”variations of the same themes later in the present. I am not sure if that makes total sense, because lets face it, I know nothing about music. The music for the 70's part of the film feels of that period, I guess is what I am saying. Ahem.

Finally, I will briefly mention the ending to “Halloween Kills” which as expected is a bit of a letdown and kind of a nothing ending, although it does add a supernatural twist on the story that I felt like Green was initially trying to dismiss in his 2018 film. Personally, it feels like the film just ends, and we are essentially in the same place we were when the film started, and I never got a sense of what Michael's purpose was in this film, or what he was setting out to achieve.

Overall, I know that it sounds like I did not like the film, but that is not the case. It is a very messy, and inconsistent film but I feel that whenever Michael Myers is onscreen, the film is just awesome. His brutal and vicious rampage is something to behold, and the gore and blood have been so well handled. On the other hand, the vigilante storyline was a total disaster and very poorly handled with the return of the original characters being nothing more than a wink to the fans of the series. The length of these riot scenes have also pushed the Strode family into minor characters essentially for this latest entry, which was sad to see. However, I think the opening twenty minutes of “Halloween Kills” are outstanding, and the film would be worth seeing just for them alone. I will still be looking forward to “Halloween Ends” and hope that this trilogy goes out in style. Whilst the latest entry is a lot of fun at times, it also has moments of total cheese throughout.

3 Stars.