The Little Sister
Fatima (Nadia Melliti) is the youngest of three daughters in an Algerian family living in France. She knows she is different from her sisters before even being able to name the reason why. It takes an accusation and a violent altercation at school for her to finally admit to herself that she might be gay. Determined to explore these feelings, Fatima creates dating profiles under different names and gives the women she meets false backstories. Her carefully crafted compartmentalisation begins to crumble when she meets Ji-Na (Park Ji-Min, in the first of three appearances at this festival).
Director Hafsia Herzi (Bonne Mère) has shown a clear preference for casting non-professional actors in her films, drawing on their texture and authenticity. The drawback of this approach becomes evident in The Little Sister (La Petite Dernière): despite her best efforts, Melliti seems unable to fully let go in front of the camera. While her character is still in high school and it makes sense that she remain unreadable to the viewer, whether her sort-of-boyfriend proposes marriage or a doctor talks to her as if she were a child, her poker face is that of any teenage girl trying to keep the world at a distance. However, when Fatima enters into a relationship with Ji-Na – to whom she doesn’t lie about her origin – it becomes increasingly clear that the film demands more emotional vulnerability than its young lead is able to deliver.
Because of its title, and with her family always appearing at the margins of the narrative, it feels like the film is building toward an escalation that ultimately never comes. The same goes for the role of her religion: it is established in great detail and leads to a loaded conversation with an imam, who lectures Fatima about homosexuality in Islam – only to be left in the rearview mirror.
The Little Sister has its heart in the right place, even if the script includes lines like “I hope you don’t eat dogs,” directed at its Korean love interest. The fact that it dances around all the topics it wants to address but never truly delves into them makes the feature a missed opportunity – and ultimately, easy to skip.
Selina Sondermann
The Little Sister does not have a release date yet.
Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival coverage here.
For further information about the event visit the Cannes Film Festival website here.
Watch the trailer for The Little Sister here:
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