Ponette

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Ponette ★★ 1995

Fouryearold Ponette (Thivisol) is hardpressed 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. 92m/C VHS, DVD . FR Victorie Thivisol, Marie Trintignant, Claire Nebout, Xavier Beauvois; D: Jacques Doillon; W: Jacques Doillon; C: Caroline Champetier; M: Philippe Sarde. N.Y. Film Critics '97: Foreign Film; Venice Film Fest. '96: Actress (Thivisol).