Petite Maman (2022), Directed by Cecile Sciamma

Eight-year-old Nelly and her parents are clearing out her grandma’s house after her recent death. Half way through the task Nelly’s mother, Marion, suddenly leaves without explanation. Playing in the woods, Nelly meets another girl her age and the two only children bond. This slow and thoughtful film is shot totally from Nelly’s point of view. Her joys, fears and sorrows drive the narrative in a tender examination of grief, goodbyes and parent-child relationships. Time travel? Flights of imagination? We are never quite sure and it really doesn’t matter. The performance of Josephine Sanz as Nelly is remarkable and the casting of her twin, Gabrielle, as her new friend is very clever. The many long, slow, lingering shots verge on tedium but set a mood and at 73 minutes this heartfelt and emotional film does not outstay its welcome.

Eiffel (2021), directed by Martin Bourboulon

Gustav Eiffel was a talented engineer, feted for building the Statue of Liberty and various innovative bridges and buildings worldwide. He wanted to build the Paris Metro, but France wanted him to build a monument for the 1889 World’s Fair. The result was his famous tower and the film tells the story of the various hindrances, tribulations and complications involved in building it. Not the least of these was Eiffel’s discovery that one of his main supporters and facilitators is married to his long lost love. Eiffel was not only a pioneer of engineering, but of workplace safety and his story is well worth telling. The tragic tale of love sits somewhat uneasily alongside it and is not helped by an obtrusive score and too many long, lingering shots and meaningful silences. Romain Duris does his best Daniel Day Lewis as Eiffel, while Emma Mackey is more convincing as younger Adrienne than the mature version. The timeline is fuzzy, which doesn’t help, but the evocation of fin-de-siecle Paris is beautiful and the writers do a reasonable job of explaining the complex engineering without veering into boring.