Les Petites Vacances

The film opens with a mother rushing to get her children on a train with their grandmother who is taking them to see their estranged father. Early in the film, the grandmother, Daniele, played quite brilliantly and somewhat chillingly by Bernadette Lafont, wakes up from a sleep to find her grandson missing and there is an uneasuy moment of loss, fear and panic before he reappears trailing his kite behind him. This fear of children being kidnapped is a simple but powerful theme , which has Daniele turn the premise on its head by being the kidnapper.

It is the casual mention that she will not be needed any more because Marine (Adele Csech) is now old enough to accompany her brother on her own that seems to tip Daniele over the edge. She desperately tries to cling on to what small shreds of happiness she still has, many of which revolve around her children so she disposes of her phone in the lake, hires a car and drives up into the mountain to relive her own past through them, totally oblivious of the anxiety that she is creating in the children’s parents.

The strength of this film is that it never descends into mawkishness or sentimentality, instead it is blunt and we get constant reminders of how Daniele’s behaviour affects everyone around her. Although the film focuses on Daniele, Peyron coaxes a powerful and insightful performance from Adele Csech too as a teenage girl who is self-preoccupied, self-conscious, rude and resentful of still being considered a child. Gradually, however, she begins to realise that something is wrong and that she needs to start taking more responsibility for herself, her brother and, indeed, her grandmother. We truly believe in this awkward teenager trying to find her feet in a world where the adults, and their behaviour, in particular, make less and less sense.

In addition to the strength of the performances and the script, the film is also beautiful to look at, taking us as it does on a tour of some spectacular mountain and lake scenery. The scenery itself seems to reinforce Daniele’s need to really taste life again. In a sense, the scenery is an extension of her personality.

This film was nominated in the Best Film category at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival and quite right too. It explores a simple theme with subtlety and finesse. It is beautifully performed, beautifully written, skilfully directed and beautifully filmed.