"Petite Maman" Review

 

Eight-year-old Nelly is remarkably gifted for her age, but the death of her grandmother has left her with questions she can’t answer. Compounding things is that, while staying in her grandmother’s house while it’s being cleared out, her mother leaves her with her father with no real explanation. One day, while walking in the woods, she discovers a girl her age building a hut. It isn’t long before she befriends her, as they have a lot in common. Actually, they have a bit too much in common, and Nelly realizes this may be the kind of brief-but-meaningful friendship that will literally never happen again.

Sweet, funny, and quietly devastating, Céline Sciamma’s new film Petite Maman is one of the lighter art house films I’ve seen recently, but will no doubt still pack an emotional punch. The film’s effectiveness is even more impressive given the brevity and simplicity of its story (the film itself is only 72 minutes including credits). The two girls in the lead roles do an amazing job, and I really felt the emotion in their performances.

As the film goes on, the deeper elements of the story start to become more apparent. There are clearly things happening here beyond the scope of the film’s length and near the end of the film, they get addressed, leading to one of the most powerful conversation sequences I’ve seen in a movie in recent memory. In addition, the film’s ambiguity works to its advantage, presenting the story as it is seen through the eyes of its eight-year-old lead. Also impressive are the limited means on which the film is produced. There are only a scant few locations used and only a handful of actors in total.

Because of the limited material presented, I’d prefer to refrain from saying too much. Just know that this is a must-see film whether you’re interested in speculative fiction or looking for a good family drama, and you won’t need much time to watch it. It’s a film that tells a great and powerful story by making the impossible possible. Just bring a box of tissues. You might need them.

 

"RRR (Rise Roar Revolt)" Review

    

     The stories of the two legendary Indian revolutionaries at the the center of S.S. Rajamouli’s period action epic RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) would have made good material for biopics on their own. In fact, both have had movies made about them. However, RRR is definitely not a biopic by any stretch of the term. See, Rajamouli noticed that the stories of these two men were somewhat similar to each other and asked the question: what would’ve happened if they had crossed paths at some point in their lives? Many would merely fantasize or speculate, but Rajamouli made a movie about it, and not just any movie either. RRR is a cinematic tour-de-force that lures you in with promises of intense action and delivers an engaging story, before hitting you with some of the most massive spectacle I’ve seen in a movie. 

    In 1920s India, Malli, a girl from the Gond tribe, is taken from her home by British Governor Scott (a man so racist he won’t even shoot Indians because he thinks that would be a waste of bullets) and his wife. Komaram Bheem, the tribe’s protector, goes undercover in Delhi to track down the girl and bring her back. The government wants him captured, and A. Rama Raju, a tough-as-nails Indian cop working for the British, sets out to bring him in with the promise of a hefty promotion if he succeeds. During the search, Rama ends up saving a boy’s life with the help of another man who he subsequently befriends. What Rama doesn’t know is that the man is actually Bheem. Their friendship is intersected with Rama’s search for Bheem, and it isn’t long before the truth threatens to tear them apart. However, Rama is hiding something as well… 

    RRR is over three hours long, and while I’m certainly a sucker for cinematic insanity, the fact remains that at some point the novelty does usually wear off. Thankfully, there’s substance in addition to the style. The pacing in this film is well-done and even some of the longer scenes (such as an extended dance-off sequence) still kept me engaged with the story. Much of the first half is relatively low-key (with some very notable exceptions), focusing more on the friendship of these two men and the dramatic irony therein. The film lets the story build until the explosive midway point, with the second half adding considerably more to the narrative, including extended flashback sequences. This is a big story for a big movie and it doesn’t feel too padded. 

    When the action does start, it blindsides you with some of the most incredible set pieces I’ve seen in recent memory. This film has it all: guns, stunts, explosions, wild animals mauling people, kids with guns, crossbows, riots, brutal violence, and perhaps most notably, motorcycles used as weapons. Action scenes are frequently shown in slow-motion and sped-up. In the theater I saw it at, the start of the film’s outrageous and deeply satisfying climax made the audience burst into applause. This is a film you have to see to believe. The performances are great too. Most notably, Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody respectively portray the governor and his wife as not just racist, but cartoonishly evil. In a more serious film, this may have been detrimental, but here, it works. The film gets so over-the-top and is so unapologetically unsubtle at times that these performances work in the film’s favor. 

    Are there issues with using the stories of two real people who fought bravely for causes for the purposes of a film like this? Probably, and there has been controversy in India over that. However, the fact remains that RRR is one of the better action films I’ve seen recently at a time of spectacle saturation. Mixing unbelievable action with an engaging and heartfelt story, it truly stands out among other films in the genre, and with its period-colonialism-drama-meets-manly-bonkers-action-film premise, it’s also unlike anything else I’ve seen in recent memory.