kailomonkey Amazing realistic account of a girl who loses her mother but knows that she lives forever. Everyone has their own experiences with God and their own doubts, and she is passed back and forth a little, between believers and non-believers, most of which stand against her at some point. But her faith stays true to herself......and she eventually gets to get on with her life.Really realistic portrayal of how God communicates with different people and how some believers in God don't accept that and yet some non-believers can. From my own real life experiences I can confirm this to be possibly a completely true story, even the ending. And how believing it can leave you at odds with what the world might believe.Tried not to spoil the film for you, so watch it and be happy!

chattykathyp I have wanted to see this movie for a very long time. At the time it was released, my own Mother had suddenly died and I knew that it would have been too intense for me to watch. Now, it is almost 11 years later and I have finally watched it and this is quite simply one of the most true to life portrayals of grief and the journey it becomes for really anyone. I was Ponettes age when my father died and I can completely relate to her reactions, her agony and the confusion she portrayed. I can remember asking constantly when Daddy was coming back and not really accepting the answers that people were telling me. I also recall praying and talking to my father when I was alone in my room, begging him to come back and see me when no one else was around. I even had a dream about my father that was amazingly close to Ponettes interaction with her mother. This rang so true for me that I couldn't believe the writer of this story connected things in such a realistic way. Victoire Thivisol is shockingly real in this role. I cannot believe she was only 4 years old when this was filmed! It's a fascinating study of a shields emotional response to such a tragic event and quite honestly, I am at a total loss of words as to how to describe the power of this movie. I can only tell you that if you are looking for something intense and engrossing, this would be your movie. I really appreciated the feeling it left me with at the end too.....that life is not always easy and predictable but that humans are remarkably resilient beings who can actually grow in wonderful ways from the events that challenge us the most.

futures-1 "Ponette" (French, 1996): We learn that a child lost her mother in a car accident. Ponette (the child), like all children, tries to blend the various truths given her by adults, other children, teachers, books, rumors, churches...eventually arriving at her own version of Truth...a Truth that allows her to move on, with some peace. No one seems to know what to DO for her, and so, her search is solo. What most ASTOUNDS me about "Ponette" is: 1) It's written NOT by grown ups who see children as small adults, but as true children - with all the confusion, magic, and hope we seem to lose as we age, and, 2) the ACTING of Victoire Thivisol ("Ponette") is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. She received numerous awards for this role, which upset some people - because she was only FOUR YEARS OLD at the time. "HOW CAN ANYONE HAVE TALENT AT FOUR?" Watch it for yourself. No one is beating her, no one is spraying lemon juice in her eyes, no one is tickling her feet...SHE is doing her own work. It's like she is channeling the next incarnation of Meryl Streep or someone. Since "Ponette", she has done two more films, including "Chocolat" (1999) with Juliette Binoche. She is now only TWELVE. I should live so long as to follow her entire career.

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.