TZVETAN TODOROV — current posts

Marvellous Strange: Petite Maman (Sciamma, 2021) and the Fantastic - Part II

In the first part of this blog post, I looked at how Petite Maman evokes the fantastic in its movement between what Tzvetan Todorov calls the uncanny and the marvellous, through the tale of a young girl (Nelly) meeting her own mother (Marion) at the same age. In this second part, I will look in further detail at the magical uncertainty, ambiguity and a wavering between different cinematic modes that Sciamma’s film presents.

EDITORIALBen TyrerJanuary 21, 2022FANTASY, UNCANNY, MARVELLOUS, FAMILY, TZVETAN TODOROVComment

Marvellous Strange: Petite Maman (Sciamma, 2021) and the Fantastic - Part I

To describe Céline Sciamma’s new film, Petite Maman (2021) (Fig. 1) as “Alain Resnais does Bridge to Terabithia” would surely be to do a disservice to all involved, and the director’s own references are – more appropriately – Alice Guy-Blaché, Germaine Dulac and Miyazaki Hayao (especially My Neighbor Totoro [1988] and Spirited Away [2002]).

EDITORIALBen TyrerDecember 10, 2021FANTASTIC, FAMILY, UNCANNY, MARVELLOUS, TZVETAN TODOROVComment