Ponette

Rating:
Summary: great film but not easy
Review: "I acn't believe their acting" this is a story told completly from a child perspective. I have worked with many child and grief. This is absolutely realistic. Very powerful film.

Rating:
Summary: Intensely Moving Film
Review: Guys, I'm warning you. If you get embarrassed crying at movies, you better let your ladies watch this one by themselves. Because unless you have a heart of stone, this little girl will break your heart. I had a hard time believing she was acting at times. This is an intensely moving look at a child's experience of grief.

Rating:
Summary: Simply beautiful
Review: Superb acting. Masterful direction. Beautiful cinematography of the french countryside. Captivating in its poignant treatment of questions around love, loss, coping with death, and renewal. Presenting this story from the perspective and in the simplicity of the language of children was positively masterful. I found the message - moving on, seeking out one's own happiness and choosing life over sadness - as one that resonated with my own experiences in losing loved ones. I do not normally purchase videos but this is a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: Movie is great, but yet another poor DVD.
Review: I'll skip the movie itself review. You can easily tell that it's a great movie by all the other reviews. What I'll focus on is the DVD itself. One point for it is that it has a menu. It goes down hill there as the DVD only has Stereo sound. This might be due to the original's lack of budget but I began to wonder when I see this classic movie is only pan and scan. Fox/Lorber has seen fit to put hard subtitles whether or not we can understand French. This is a DVD which could have been a lot better. It's a shame that we get such great movies done in substandard DVDs. Bowfinger is going to be 16:9, Widescreen, and Pan&Scan; plus DTS sound & lots of extras. Couldn't Fox/Lorber have done this movie with at least a widescreen version and removeable subtitles? Look at A Better Tomorrow to see how good a foriegn film can be put onto a DVD. It's really a shame to have the shoddy DVD for such a fine movie. And it could have been so much more.

Rating:
Summary: Best French Film for children
Review: This was the sadest film I've ever seen with children as the main actors. They were wonderful and so realistic I cry every time I watch the movie. It also is a great movie for teenagers learning French!.

Rating:
Summary: One for the collection
Review: A truly unique and emotional film. I have seen and shown this movie to many, and the reviews are all the same, amazing and beautiful. It is a must in anyone's collection..the five stars are real!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Outstanding, Beautiful
Review: It's hard to find the words to express how this film made me feel (surprisingly I found myself crying just 4 minutes into the movie); but I must declare that it has certainly moved me deeply. I have seen few movies where the performances are as believable as this one. The storyline is simple yet beautiful. The cinematography is perfectly carried out from light tones into the colours of fall/winter. And the ending (while not "loved" by all viewers) is moving and brings a lot of hope to anyone who has ever experience a heartache (or life for that matter). I happened to see "Ponette" at a time when I nearly lost my mom to an illness and it made me realise the importance of keeping the faith and maintaining my heart open . This film has quickly made it into my list of top flicks. I recommend it to all people, even if you are not into "sad" films (I for one was not before this one), You are gonna love the movie and you'll ADORE little Victorie Thivisol. Thank You Amy for recommending me this film.

Rating:
Summary: Ponette
Review: Astounding! This is the most moving film I have ever seen. Leonard Maltin either has never lost someone close to him or he simply has no heart. The ending a cop-out? Impossible! I lost my own mother 2 years ago and after going through all of Ponette's emotions with her and bawling my eyes out, her final line in the film gave me a sense of peace and closure. I would have to agree with another reviewer that you feel as if you are watching this in real life as it happens. This young girl is incredible. I doubt this film would be as poignant without her. You will definitely be emotionally spent after this movie but I recommend it to everyone. (You can watch it by yourself if you don't want anyone to see you cry!)

Rating:
Summary: Heartwrenching
Review: I can't put into words how I felt watching this little girl go through all these emotions after her mother died...and I've only, so far, seen the last 45 minutes of it. After watching the ending of this movie, I had to go into my l6 month old daughter's room (while she was sleeping) and tell her I loved her. I recommend this movie wholeheartedly...you'd be foolish not to admit to crying while you watch it...it moves you that much.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't stop crying!
Review: Never, never have I ever been so captivated by a movie. The story in of itself broke my heart. I was mesmerized by this little, gifted child actor. The scene where she is digging wither her bare hands at her mom's grave really opened a flood of tears. And of course, who could forget the scene where she is in a big open field and she commands her mom's presence....only to have no mom appear; the camera pans back and you see this lonely, solitary child in the middle of a field. Masterful directing! This movie goes down as one of my all-time classic favorites.