Ponette Movie Review 1995

Four-year-old Ponette (Thivisol) is hard-pressed to understand what's happening to her family after her mother is killed in a car accident. Her father can't seem to explain it properly, so Ponette comes to her own acceptance with the help of some school friends. Film drew some controversy when the very young Thivisol was awarded the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival--since Thivisol was thought by some critics to be too young to "act," director Doillon was accused of manipulating the youngster in order to get a performance. French with subtitles.

Distribution

Wellspring Media, A Division of Genius Products, Inc., 2230 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90904, Phone: (310)453-1222, Fax: (310)453-0074, URL: http://www.wellspring.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 92 minutes.
Originally from French.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Dads, Childhood Visions, Death & the Afterlife

Screenplay

Jacques Doillon

Cast

Victorie Thivisol, Marie Trintignant, Claire Nebout, Xavier Beauvois

Cinematography

Caroline Champetier

Director

Jacques Doillon

Music

Philippe Sarde

Producer

Alain Sarde, Arrow Releasing

Awards

N.Y. Film Critics 1997: Foreign Film; Venice Film Fest. 1996: Actress (Thivisol).