“Does French film-maker Céline Sciamma ever put a foot wrong?” That’s a question I posed in my 2021 Observer review of Petite Maman, a sublime modern fable in which a young girl meets her soulmate – a mirror-image child who appears to be a young incarnation of her mother. The film is an astonishing work, a U-certificate masterpiece for children of all ages, conjuring a magical reality in which characters converse across generational divides in disarmingly matter-of-fact fashion. The time-travelling setup may be fantastical, but there’s nothing fanciful or far-fetched about the emotions the film provokes. On the contrary, Sciamma adopts the magical elements of ghost stories and fairytales to create a down-to-earth coming-of-age parable notable for just how real it feels.
That sense of universal “reality” is the key to what makes Sciamma’s films so special.
