Nana

2011 [FRENCH]

Action / Drama

1
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 22% · 6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 22% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.6/10 10 443 443

woman director

Plot summary

Nana is 4 years old and lives in a stone house beyond the forest. Back from school, a late afternoon, all she finds is silence in the house. A journey into the darkness of her childhood. The world from her height.

Director

Valérie Massadian Photo
Valérie Massadian

Top cast

Kelyna Lecomte Photo
Kelyna Lecomte as Nana
Marie Delmas Photo
Marie Delmas as Mama
Alain Sabras Photo
Alain Sabras as Grandpere
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
623.81 MB
1280*694
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr  
24 fps
1 hr 7 min
Seeds 1
1.13 GB
1920*1040
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr  
24 fps
1 hr 7 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by rhyscooper82 7 / 10

A dramatic but naturalistic avante garde film

Photographer/artist Valerie Massadian's debut film 'NANA' tells the sentimental and momentarily disturbing story of a bright four-year-old girl left alone in the woods for days, when her seemingly depressed mother suddenly goes missing. This piece cleared awards for 64 degrees' Festival de film Locarno Best First Feature, Fic Valdivia International Film Competition 2011, and the Istanbul International Independent Film Festival 2012.The film opens to a locked-off single-shot of a long, manual and unfabricated execution of a farmed pig. Two male relatives of Nana slowly comfort the animal in order to shoot a pulse of air into its brain, stunning it into a violent shake before draining its blood. The young girl watches this from the doorway of the barn by her mothers' side; questioning and stating facts, more intrigued than concerned. They proceed to cook the animal, covering it in straw and setting a small fire. This seemingly uncut and torturous scene, agonising to watch and causing vocal disgust amongst the audience, set up for the scape of the film; the raw, country lifestyle in which many children grow up.The next scene contrasts with a far lighter mood. Nana sits in her Grandfather's lap in the barn where piglets slowly make their way out of hiding. The two pet the piglets and laugh together before she adorably exclaims '--they're little roasts!' catching you off-guard, knowing what she had just witnessed. Taking you through the day-to-day regular occurrences, she and her mother spend their time together in a very relaxed atmosphere sharing dialogue over a minimalistic track; running around the countryside, climbing over tree stumps and collecting the essentials of life - firewood, water, setting up rabbit's traps, etc. A heart-warming scene of the girl in hysterics as her mother sprays water into her face is one of the last moments we see them together.The woman's disappearance is ambiguous and untold. It is now that the girl wakes up alone; seemingly unphased by the fact that no one is around. She goes about her day as she always has, walking through the countryside collecting life's essentials. She follows the same path, throwing wood into the fire, collecting the trapped rabbit and taking it home, then using the same burning technique she witnessed her Grandfather perform earlier on the pig.The dramatic but naturalistic piece is ultimately about the underestimated ability of young children and survival at a susceptible age; following learned habits and tricks of those who have nurtured the child. With no one around, there are themes of isolation, loneliness and solitude, perhaps relating to the disappearance of Mama. Massadian seems to have been curious about how exactly a child would act if they were to be left alone under such strange circumstances, and has just let the action take place, seemingly bordering on documentary. Nana swears confidently and openly as she draws and role-plays as a character from her past. As one would grow to expect from a photographer, the film is a visual masterpiece utilizing natural light to illuminate locations and moods. The avante-garde film, being a first for both the cast and the director, is something to see even in terms of studying the human psyche.
Reviewed by dr-mark-wright 9 / 10

A simple beautiful and poetic film about life from the perspective of a child

This is a beautiful film focusing on a little girl living in the French countryside with her mother and grand father. The story is set in a forest which lends a fairytale quality to the film. There is a general plot arc but the power of the film comes from setting a scene up and letting the little girl say and do much as she pleases. The result is a film of great integrity and honesty. Some viewers may be disturbed by themes of life and death in a rural farming community but ultimately this is a wonderful portrayal of the world from a child's perspective. The overall effect is to highlight the strange spiritual resilience of children which adults may miss due to assumptions of childhood innocence and vulnerability.
Read more IMDb reviews

No comments yet

Be the first to leave a comment