Ponette | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jacques Doillon |
Written by | Jacques Doillon |
Produced by | Alain Sarde |
Starring | Victoire Thivisol Claire Nebout |
Cinematography | Caroline Champetier |
Edited by | Jacqueline Lecompte |
Music by | Philippe Sarde |
Distributed by | BAC Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Budget | €2.7 million [1] |
Box office | $3.9 million [1] |
Ponette is a 1996 French film directed by Jacques Doillon. The film centers on four-year-old Ponette (Victoire Thivisol), who is coming to terms with the death of her mother in a car crash.
The film received acclaim for Thivisol's performance, who was only four at the time of filming.
Before the film begins, Ponette's mother dies in a car crash, which Ponette herself survives with only a broken arm (she consequently must wear an arm cast).
Following her mother's death, Ponette's father (Xavier Beauvois) leaves the young girl with her Aunt Claire (Claire Nebout), and her cousins Matiaz (Matiaz Bureau Caton) and Delphine (Delphine Schiltz). Ponette and her cousins are later sent to a boarding school. There, the loss of her mother becomes even more harsh and painful when she is mocked on the playground for being motherless. [2]
Not yet having come to terms with her mother's death, Ponette searches for her. [2] Ponette becomes increasingly withdrawn, and spends most of her time waiting for her mother to come back.
When waiting alone fails, Ponette enlists the help of her school friend Ada (Léopoldine Serre) to help her become a "child of God" to hopefully convince God to return her mother, in vain.
In the end, Ponette visits a cemetery and cries for her mother, who suddenly appears to comfort her and ask her to live her life and not be sad all the time. Her mother (played by Marie Trintignant) says she cannot keep coming back, so Ponette must move on and go be happy with her father.
Then, it appears that her mother gives her a sweater that she did not bring to the cemetery, and her father comments when he sees her that "I haven't seen that sweater in a while".
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91%, based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. [3]
Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
---|---|---|---|
National Board of Review Award | Top Foreign Films | Won | |
New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
Online Film Critics Society Award | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | |
Online Film & Television Association Award | Best Breakthrough Performance - Female | Victoire Thivisol | Won |
Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | ||
São Paulo International Film Festival | Critics Prize | Won | |
Satellite Award | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | |
Society of Texas Film Critics Awards | Best Foreign Film | 2nd place | |
Venice Film Festival | Volpi Cup for Best Actress | Victoire Thivisol | Won |
FIPRESCI Prize | Won | ||
OCIC Award | Won | ||
Sergio Trasatti Award | Won | ||
Golden Lion | Nominated | ||
Young Artist Award | Best Family Foreign Film | Won | |
Best Young Performer in a Foreign Film | Victoire Thivisol | Won |
Marie Trintignant was a French film and stage actress. She appeared in over 30 movies during her 36-year career. Her family was deeply involved in France's film industry, as her father was an actor and her mother was a director, producer, and screenwriter.
Cousins is a 1989 American romantic comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, Sean Young, William Petersen, Keith Coogan, Lloyd Bridges and Norma Aleandro. The film is an American remake of the 1975 French comedy Cousin Cousine, directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella. It is set in Seattle, Washington, but shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Elizabethtown is a 2005 American romantic tragicomedy film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Its story follows a young shoe designer, Drew Baylor, who is fired from his job after costing his company an industry record of nearly one billion dollars. On the verge of suicide, Drew receives a call from his sister telling him that their father has died while visiting their former hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Deciding to postpone his suicide and bring their father's body back to Oregon, he then becomes involved in an unexpected romance with Claire Colburn, who he meets near the start of his journey. Elizabethtown stars Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Alec Baldwin, and Susan Sarandon.
Victoire Thivisol is a French film actress.
Madea's Family Reunion is a 2006 American comedy-drama film and an adaptation of the stage production of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The film is a sequel to Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It was written, directed by, and starring Perry with the rest of the cast consisting of Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield, Boris Kodjoe, Henry Simmons, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Maya Angelou, Rochelle Aytes, Jenifer Lewis, Tangi Miller, Keke Palmer, and Cicely Tyson. The film tells the story of Madea preparing for an upcoming family reunion while dealing with the dramas before and during it. It was released on February 24, 2006, nearly one year following its predecessor, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The independent film was produced by Lionsgate.
Le Petit Lieutenant is a 2005 French crime drama film directed by Xavier Beauvois. With almost documentary realism, it shows how in a tragic breach of procedure a young married police lieutenant is killed by a suspect and how the head of his squad doggedly tracks down the killer, who is shot dead trying to escape.
The Page Turner is a 2006 French film directed by Denis Dercourt. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Prom Night is a 2008 slasher film directed by Nelson McCormick. It is a reboot of the Prom Night film series and its fifth installment, mainly taking inspiration from the original 1980 film. The film stars an ensemble cast including Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis, Collins Pennie, Kelly Blatz, James Ransone, Brianne Davis, Johnathon Schaech, and Idris Elba.
Expired is a 2007 comedy-drama film and the directorial debut of writer-director Cecilia Miniucchi, whose previous credits include the documentary on the work of artist Hermann Nitsch, entitled Nitsch 1998. It stars Samantha Morton, Jason Patric, Illeana Douglas and Teri Garr.
Treeless Mountain is a 2008 South Korean drama film written and directed by So Yong Kim. It stars Hee Yeon Kim, Song Hee Kim, Soo Ah Lee, Mi Hyang Kim, and Boon Tak Park. The film premiered on September 5, 2008, at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and was given a limited release in the United States on April 22, 2009.
Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French noblewoman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. She was the Princess of Guéméné by marriage.
Villa Amalia is a 2009 French drama film adapted from the novel Villa Amalia by Pascal Quignard. It is directed by Benoît Jacquot and stars Isabelle Huppert.
Bastards is a 2013 thriller film directed by Claire Denis. It stars Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
In Secret is a 2013 American erotic thriller romance film written and directed by Charlie Stratton. Based on Émile Zola's classic 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin and the 2009 stage play by the same name penned by Neal Bell, the film stars Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Lange. It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received a regional release on February 21, 2014.
Breathe is a 2014 French coming-of-age drama film directed by Mélanie Laurent, based on the novel of the same name by Anne-Sophie Brasme. The film stars Joséphine Japy, Lou de Laâge and Isabelle Carré. It was screened in the Critics' Week section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It was also screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. In January 2015, the film received three nominations at the 20th Lumières Awards and also two nominations at the 40th César Awards.
Summertime is a 2015 romantic drama film directed by Catherine Corsini, who co-wrote the screenplay with Laurette Polmanss. The film stars Cécile de France, Izïa Higelin and Noémie Lvovsky. It premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival, where it won the Variety Piazza Grande Award.
Happy End is a 2017 drama film written and directed by Michael Haneke, and starring Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant, who had also played daughter and father in Haneke's 2012 film Amour.
The Guardians is a 2017 French drama film directed and written by Xavier Beauvois. It was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
What Will People Say is a 2017 internationally co-produced drama film directed and written by Iram Haq. The film's scenes set in Pakistan were all shot in India, mostly in Rajasthan.
Petite Maman is a 2021 French fantasy drama film, written and directed by Céline Sciamma. Starring Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Stéphane Varupenne, Nina Meurisse and Margo Abascal, the film follows a young girl coping with the death of her maternal grandmother by bonding with her mother.