Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant acting by child actor Thivisol.
Review: What's brilliant about this film is the acting by Thivisol. According to several interviews and magazines, the director Jacques Doillon, took more than a year to shoot this film, while studying the child actors' behavior and attitude. In the middle of production, he would change the plot so he can match it with the children's behavior. Amazing filmmaking.
Rating: 
Summary: Bravo Victoire!
Review: The main actress, Victoire, is one of the most amazingly gifted actresses, child or adult. The story is spare, and may drag a bit at times, but is well worth it to watch this wonderful actress. Extraordinary!
Rating:
Summary: Hold your heart with two hands.
Review: Don't watch this movie if you have plans to do something afterwards. I have never been moved so deeply by a movie. Thivisol (Ponette) should get a lifetime achievement award for this one role. If you don't like crying in front of other people, watch it ALONE. The director somehow manages to take the viewer into the psycholigical kingdom of a beautiful and very sad little woman. By the end of the movie it became too much to handle and I found myself crying....shaking....crying like a four year old thinking my mother was taken from me forever and the haunting prospects of moving through life without Her. My shaking and crying continued for an hour after the movie ended. "Out of sight out of mind" does not apply to this film. It continues to affect me right now. This should be required viewing for the human race. Forget about the tissues and hankies...they won't keep up with the tears. As a couple of my friends say, "hold your heart with two hands."
Rating: 
Summary: Very good film, story, plot twist, & acting
Review: I discovered this movie somewhat by accident. I was impressed by all the actors and actresses in the recent movie release "Chocolat" staring Juliette Binoche, so I looked up their previous film history. One of the impressive roles played in Chocolat was that of the young daughter, Anouk, played excellently by Victoire Thivisol. Due to her age I figured this was probably her first film. But when I looked up her history, much to my surprise I see that she had already won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role as Ponette in this movie! I was impressed with the honesty of emotions between the children in this movie as Ponette slowly comes to terms with her mother's death. The film follows Ponette through this painful process of loss, disbelief, belief, faith, and childhood perception of life, death, and the afterlife. The film portrayed this process from a child's eyes extremely well and gives the rest of us pause for thought and reflection at times as well. There are a couple of well done twists in the movie that are very effective (can't say more without giving too much away). Though sad at times, the film ends on an upbeat note with a positive message. [Those who may find the film slightly slow at times will be repaid for their patience during the last third of the movie] Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Ponette
Review: Amazon asks us to rate the DVD, not the film, so here is my assessment. Anyone who is a fan of French film should stop buying DVDs produced by Fox Lorber. "Ponette" is produced by Fox Lorber, and once again the company has demonstrated it knows nothing about cinema as an art form and cares little about exploiting the inherent advantages of the DVD medium. Originally shot in widescreen format, Fox Lorber has given us "Ponette" in reduced form (1.33 to 1). While many of the film's shots are close-ups, the reduced aspect ratio severely hampers the contrasting visual effect of the wide panoramic shots of the splendid lyonnais countryside. In addition, Fox Lorber shortchanges foreign-film aficionados and language teachers by allowing no user control of the film's subtitles. Finally, this DVD lacks a chronometer (time remaining, time elapsed) for easy scene/shot retrieval. The "extras" Fox Lorber gives users are not worth mentioning, and were not worth the very tiny effort Fox Lorber made to include them. In short, "Ponette" is a wonderful film that is definitely worth seeing (try renting it through Facets if your local video store doesn't carry it), but this Fox Lorber-produced DVD is definitely NOT worth spending your money on. When Fox Lorber decides to start devoting care, effort, and money into its DVDs, then people should reward this through their purchases. Until then, as long as Fox Lorber gives us second-rate products, we should refuse to give them our money.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was the first foriegn movie I saw. When it came to the US in 1997, my girlfriend and I decided to check it out. Boy, was I suprised. It was the best movie I had seen in a long time. Since then I have watched it many times and it keeps getting better. Even my sister loves it and she hates most of the movies I like.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: A French mother has been critically injured in a car accident. The first scene of "Ponette" has the amazing Victoire Thivisol lying in a hospital bed, her broken forearm in a cast. She is four years old -- not a six year old pretending to be a four year old. Her young father is telling her, telling Ponette that her mother is so badly injured she might not make it. What follows is an extraordinary story of a child learning about faith, spirituality, God. We see the learning process as it is seen by young children. The director of "Ponette" is, it seems, completely fearless. Ninety per cent of the movie is interaction between children, and the viewer feels like at any moment there will be some flaw, something that tells us the kids are dependent on a talented director. The flaw never appears. It looks like a documentary, but there's no narration. Then, just as we think we know how deeply our hearts will be touched, we find out we are mistaken. It's unlikely there will ever be a more beautiful, compelling, monumental movie. ________________________________________________________________
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderfully Acted Movie!
Review: This movie is in a word...AMAZING! This deep and emotional look into the grief of a tremendously young girl is heartbreaking and exceedingly fantastic. I can't believe the amount of talent in this young girl. She was simply fantastic. I found myself weeping out loud and listening to the sound of my heartbreaking. I could only find consolation in the belief that this was a work of fiction and that this poor little girl wasn't faced with the tragic reality of her mother's death. Her little face is forever engraved in my mind and I will always have a fond place in my heart for this wonderful movie. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: C'est si bon
Review: This movie is wonderful, Victoire Thivisol will steal your heart as Ponette. The movie is sad but finishes on a hopeful note. Its a great pick-me-up. Anyone with a heart should see this movie! Break out the hankies!!
Rating:
Summary: ARE YOU AN ACTOR?
Review: If you are and you're sensibility as an actor is geared towards "realism", then I would highly suggest using these children as your teachers. Here is a director who allowed the film to breathe and who directed these kids so brilliantly. May you enjoy it as much as I did. (I'm buying this on DVD.)
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