The last film to play in the Rose when the pandemic closed the theatre in March of 2020 was PORTRAIT OF LADY ON FIRE, Céline Sciamma's lush, romantic, exquisite love story. Sciamma returns to the Rose next Friday (5/6) with her latest film, PETITE MAMAN, proving once again that she is one of the most accomplished French filmmakers working today.
Like all of Sciamma's work, PETITE MAMAN is intimately attuned to the experiences and perspectives of women who are bonded by blood, affection, and circumstance. Conceived before the pandemic but shot during it, the film is a concise 72-minute fable - a gentle variation on the time-travel genre - about a young girl named Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) who, while helping her parents clean out the rural home of her recently deceased grandmother, strikes up a friendship with a girl name Marion (Gabrielle Sanz) who looks just like her, sounds just like her and turns out to be her 8-year-old mother. It's a magical turn of events. "Quite simply, it's as impeccable as movies come: tightly contained, expertly executed and overflowing with thorny and universal notions about the ties that bind and the everlasting yearning for togetherness." -Daily Beast. (Sciamma also co-wrote the animated movie MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI which we presented several years ago). PETITE trailer
Also starting next week (5/6) is THE DUKE with Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. As far as I'm concerned, any movie that stars Broadbent, Mirren or Maggie Smith and Judi Dench is a must-see Rose movie. And THE DUKE looks thoroughly delightful. "A ridiculously charming British comedy." -Playlist Trailer
As an appetizer before THE DUKE - which concerns a famous painting - may I recommend TIM'S VERMEER and POLLACK, both of which you will find streaming in the Rose Theatre Film Library.
Cinematically yours,
Rocky