Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Madilyn Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

mshsteach I cannot disagree with Brian enough! You don't need to know French to know that Victoire was giving one of the best heartfelt performances ever given, and just at the mere age of four. Emotion, pain, love, and death is universal. I felt Ponette's pain and remembered just how difficult it was to deal with the loss of a loved one.If a viewer can't handle movies with captions, then maybe he should pick another movie. It's as simple as that. But if that is your qualification and how one judges movies, you're missing out on some very fine movies.

PickUrFeetInPoughkeepsie I do not believe I have ever seen a film that comes anywhere close to "Ponette" before. While I would not consider it my favorite film that I could watch over and over and over, it is easily one of the stronger movies I have seen. Rarely do I view a film that is so precise and cohesive even though it simultaneously plays off so many different themes, like sentimentallity, nostalgia (we all remember the strange social world of the playground though maybe some of us don't want to go back), the pain of loss, and (gasp) humor. Most directors and actors would get lost at one point or another, not knowing how to segue or shift from one tone to another, but here there is nary a problem with doing so, which is especially amazing considering the leading lady has been walking and talking for about as long as it takes to make a bowl of oatmeal. The best scenes for me were the trials that the older girl put Ponette through. The dumpster one was especially great. Considering that early on in the film I sympathized with Ponette when she cried during some scenes, I felt bad laughing at her suffering through the tests, especially when her hand got caught when the dumpster lid came down. I believe some of this movie was improv, so for all I know, the poor girl really got her hand hurt, but I remember those type of moments as a child; those tests of stamina, durability, agility, etc. I put my younger brother through some horrific ones. One time he broke his arm. How could I have been so cruel?A performance artist/singer named Suran Song recommended I watch this film. In Suran's performance, she actually uses slides of the scene where the mean little punk Antoine is playing with Ponette on the playground and begins to verbally abuse her about her mothers death. The context Suran used the scene in her act seemed to be making a statement about how people treat others in society, even when very young. Interesting how she sort of sampled an individual scene and made it into a story of her own, because it plays much differently in the film as a whole (obviously) since we know the characters.Probably not for everyone, but certainly for those who want to a see a piece of work very left-of-center yet not oddball in any way; simply a viewpoint that wouldn't normally seem worth making an entire feature film out of because it would be hard to pull off. Ponette is not only pulled off... it goes flying to the moon.

Asmus Teis You have to accept the ending on the child's terms. The entire film is spent at the child's level, so when the ending comes you have to believe in children's logic. Ponette doesn't see her mother coming back to life briefly as illogical, so neither should we. When you return to an adult's perspective, it is obviously a dream or a hallucination. It is quite natural for those who have lost a loved one to imagine that loved one returning in a dream state and telling you to move on, so I think it is quite realistic. I wish though that this was made more obvious; the ambiguity is a flaw. Perhaps it is for the children's audience; the ending is trying to work to both adults and children.That little girl truly is amazing. She makes me want to see Chocolat again because she has a big role in that. Definitely a talent for the future!

Lukerotech A really heart-breaking, beautiful movie, made all the more stunning by the fact that much of the acting is done by small children. On one level it is about a 4 year old losing her mother, but on a deeper level it is about man's search for God, and the mysteries of faith (why does God allow bad things to happen to good people, what happens when you die, etc.). Much of the film is really an exploration of the transcendent aspects of God's nature (i.e. - the parts that are beyond human understanding), disguised as childish speculation. This film is also about childhood, the way it should be - filled with loving, caring, wise adults that always have time for children. Ponette's aunt is the mother you wish you had had, and the housekeeper at her school a close second. The only jarring note is Ponette's father - perhaps he is just overcome with grief, but you get the feeling that he is just a little too wrapped up in himself, and never really wanted to be a father.There have been many complaints on this site about the movie's ending, but anyone who thinks that it is unrealistic has probably never lost a loved one. When Ponette in her agony of grief tries to dig her mother out of the grave with her bare hands I thought "I know that feeling." Her mother appearing to her and telling her to be happy is a child's-eye version of the stage in the adult grieving process when you realize that it's OK to let go; that getting on with life does not mean forgetting.