Both films today explore friendships and connections with unexpected parties. In one case it’s your mother when she was the same age as you, and in the second film it’s with a dog.

Petite Maman (Video On Demand) – Directed by Céline Sciamma, who gave us the wonderful genre drama Portrait of a Woman on Fire, this movie is a stark departure from that much-loved flick. Set in the present tense and with a much narrower scope in which to create its cinematic magic, it’s wonderful to note that Sciamma still wields great power in bringing forth this more personal story of childhood, heartbreak, family and mortality. The film opens with the follow-up of 8-year-old Nelly as she says goodbye to elderly patients in a hospital/nursery home. We assume that her grandmother has just passed away, and we note that Nelly’s mother is depressed and distracted, very affected by her mother’s death.

The twins from the cast of Petite Maman.

They then go to the country house where the Lola lived, rich in memories. The mother suddenly leaves, leaving Nelly with her father. With a refreshingly subtle reality, Nelly meets a girl, a potential playmate. and she realizes that it is Marion, her own mother when she was 8 years old. They bond, and little by little, it becomes an avenue for the two young girls to better understand what each is going through and how to decipher the adult world around them. Both girls are played by identical twins; and they’re great at conveying that conceit that the script offers to us, the audience. It’s a quiet, meditative film that rewards patience and suspension of disbelief – the modern element of magical realism goes a long way to making this a valuable little film.

Dog (Video On Demand) – Channing Tatum is the big name attached to this movie, and after watching it, you’ll be curious to see if there’s a very personal reason Tatum made this movie in the first place. Not only does he star in the film, but he is also a co-director and co-producer. It’s basically a hand-painted execution of a troubled man and an even more troubled canine affair down the road, and discovering that they need each other more than ever. a title. Lulu is the screen name of the Belgian malinois who takes the film’s title beyond Channing, who plays demobilized soldier Jackson Briggs. Briggs suffers from PTSD, and while trying to get himself reinstated, he is tasked with bringing a military dog ​​to the funeral of his handler – a comrade of Briggs.

A long-awaited but charming “Aw Shucks” humor is created and given that the dog can’t suddenly speak, it allows Channing to talk a lot out loud and be prescient enough to comment on it and wonder why he’s even trying. to carry on a conversation with a dog. Lulu has the most expressive dark brown eyes, and when Lulu takes center stage, there’s actually something good going on with the movie, and you can see why he did pretty well (considering his budget) when it hit theaters in the United States two months ago. Channing has always shown great talent in movement and keeps us interested even when there is no dialogue. He uses it perfectly in the film, and you’ll wonder why there hasn’t been more effort with the script. It’s a fun and competent film, but don’t expect much.