Capturing the world of a six-year-old child with astounding authenticity, Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq shows us a time in our lives before we understand the larger world.

Cléo (Louise Mauroy-Panzani) lives with her dad and Cape Verdean nanny Gloria (Ilça Moreno Zego) who provides maternal love and care for her. When Gloria‘s mother dies, she returns home to care for her own children, a grown-up pregnant daughter, Nanda (Abnara Gomes Varela), and a preteen son César (Fredy Gomes Tavares).

For Cléo, the absence of Gloria is devastating so unusually (or maybe it’s a French thing) her dad puts her on a plane to spend the summer with Gloria and her family in Cape Verde.

Where we have been focused on Cléo‘s world – and Amachoukeli-Barsacq gives us a genuine feel for a six-year-old view with close-up camera work, texture, detail, and movement – now we see the absence that was created for Nanda and César. Cléo is oblivious, as you are at that age, and the story in many ways is about the awakening of a sense of empathy for others, the putting aside of one’s own needs.

There is impressionistic animation that helps show mood and emotion around some pivotal scenes – a nod perhaps to childish drawings and the haziness of memory. Mauroy-Panzani is gobsmackingly good as Cléo, in fact, I wondered what the director had done to get her to ugly cry so convincingly. The narrative arc is unsurprising, although there are some genuine moments of suspense where the story could have taken a darker turn.

As the credits rolled, I wished we could see Cléo and Gloria 15 years later, so we could be sure they both pulled through.

Director: Marie Amachoukeli
Origin: France (2023)
Language: Cape Verdean Creole, French with English subtitles
Genre: Drama

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