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Ponette is a door to a magical world. It’s the
world of children, unlike we’ve ever seen before on screen:
young enough to be ignorant and innocent, but old enough to be
sensitive and wise.
Ponette (Victoire Thirisol) is a four year old girl who has just
lost her mother in a car accident and searches, with the help
of her other young friends, for reconciliation with her mother.
Ponette, in all her cute innocence, sincerely believes that she
can still contact her mother through God. Her father tells her
that she’s crazy, but Ponette believes nonetheless. Only
her little friends are interested in helping her become a “child
of God” so that she can make contact with Him.
Ponette’s faith is endearing. She prays with unparalleled
earnestness and she lives with an undefiled heart. She goes through
the trials that a friend sets upon her with full devotion and
sincerity. And her fairly mature sensitivities make her all the
more charming. It’s impossible to not love Ponette.
A large part of Ponette’s success as a character comes from
Victoire Thirisol’s unbelievable performance. She expresses
a rainbow of emotions convincingly and draws us in further with
her unending cuteness. The virtually musicless film is almost
a child documentary and certain cuts and scenes seem to give the
impression of a home video. Considering that it’s not a
documentary, it’s pretty amazing that director Jacques Doillon
was able to get the performances he did from these kids.
Ponette’s ending is the one thing that distracts
from the realism of the film. Her mother comes back, in flesh
and blood, to visit her for a day. It’s implied that it
actually happened, though we can’t necessarily rule out
that it was all in Ponette’s mind. Either way, her faith
is vindicated and her heart is set at peace. All the while, our
hearts are set at peace just watching it.
French
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