Un petit frère (English subs)
Intimate and engaging family chronicle about the relationship between a mother and her two sons.
In the late 1980s, single mother Rose moves with her two young sons from the Ivory Coast to the Paris suburbs. She takes shelter with her family, who pressure her to marry a mutual acquaintance. But the energetic, independent Rose prefers to choose her own path. Her sons Jean and Ernest are most important in her life. She urges them to be the best they can be. Yet she regularly disappears from their lives. A story told in three chapters from alternating perspectives; first the view of mother Rose, then that of son Jean and finally that of Ernest – the ‘petit frère’ of the title.
Un petit frère is a new film by Léonar Serraille, who won a Caméra d’Or for Best Debut with Jeune Femme in 2017.
With Un petit frère, director Léonor Serraille made a shadow history of 20 years of migration in France, as well as a very personal story that feels like a biography.
A layered and poignant family portrait, full of keen observations on poverty, class differences and parent-child relationships.
Un petit frère shows a strong example of ethnic profiling, it is poignant, after all these years of integration.