''My Little Princess'' is a 2011

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Eva Ionesco Eva Ionesco (born 18 July 1965) is a French actress and filmmaker. She is the daughter of photographer Irina Ionesco and came to international prominence as a child model after being featured in her mother's works. Early life Ionesco was born t ...

and inspired by her relationship with her mother, the well-known artistic photographer Irina Ionesco whose pictures of her young daughter caused controversy when they were published in the 1970s.

Plot

Violetta is raised by her grandmother ("Mamie", the French equivalent of "Grandma"). Her mother Hanna tries to make a living on taking photographs and concentrates on her dreams to become a famous artist. In order to succeed as an artist she doesn't worry about dating men of questionable reputation. Only every now and then her mother visits her daughter but during these occasions it occurs to her that her daughter could be a potential model. She starts exploiting her daughter who by transforming into a kind of Lolita becomes increasingly alienated from other children of her age. At school she is eventually frequently insulted and rejected. Then Mamie dies and Hanna's photographs are about to unequivocally overstep the line of acceptability. Hanna even coerces Violetta mercilessly into cooperation by withholding her food in case she doesn't agree to pose for increasingly daring photographs. Eventually Hanna's right of custody for her twelve-year-old daughter is at stake.

Cast

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Known for her portrayals of cold, austere women devoid of morality, she is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation. With 16 nominations and two win ...

as Hanna Giurgiu * Anamaria Vartolomei as Violetta Giurgiu * Denis Lavant as Ernst *

Louis-Do de Lencquesaing Louis-Do de Lencquesaing (born 25 December 1963) is a French actor and film director. He has a daughter with cinematographer Caroline Champetier, the actress Alice de Lencquesaing. Filmography As an actor *''Les dernières heures du milléna ...

as Antoine Dupuis * Georgetta Leahu as Mamie * Jethro Cave as Updike * Pascal Bongard as Jean *

Anne Benoît Anne Benoît is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 60 film and television productions since 1981. Career Benoît was trained at the Conservatoire de Versailles, under the direction of Marcelle Tassencourt. She later attended the Ta ...

as Madame Chenus * Johanna Degris-Agogue as Apolline * Déborah Révy as Nadia * Lou Lesage as Rose *

Nicolas Maury Nicolas Maury (born 14 October 1980 in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, Haute-Vienne) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is most noted for his regular role as Hervé in the television series '' Call My Agent! (Dix pour cent)'', and his directorial debut ...

as Louis * Pauline Jacquart as Fifi

Reception

German magazine ''

Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

'' found Anamaria Vartolomei was convincing as a young girl whose life eventually turns into a nightmare because of her mother's artistic ambitions in 1970s Paris.
Critics also commented that Anamaria Vartolomei and

have portrayed the lack of affection so convincingly that they have even been accused of interacting insufficiently as actors. Regarding this, Huppert told German newspaper ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...

'' in an interview that shooting of the film had been one of her more peculiar professional experiences because on the set she had had the feeling she was indeed the director's mother.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 1896788 2010s French-language films 2010s Romanian-language films French biographical films 2011 directorial debut films 2011 films Films set in the 20th century French drama films Films directed by Eva Ionesco Romanian drama films Romanian biographical films 2011 drama films 2011 multilingual films French multilingual films Romanian multilingual films 2010s French films