A Little Princess 1995
I picked up this movie in a deal where you had to pick five movies from a list. A Little Princess got surprisingly good reviews and was an early film by Alfonso Cuaron who would go on to a very strong career as a director, eventually winning two Oscars. The movie is based on an old novel for young girls and feels like it, but it generally works. The central character is being raised by her single (and surprsingly wealthy) father in India, but with the outset of World War I, he sends her to boarding school in New York City while he goes to fight in the war. What saves the movie is the little girl at the center of the film, while precocious, is also incredibly kind and has a great imagination, conjuring up stories about folklore figures from India for her classmates and for her own entertainment. Things get bleak in a Dickensian way before too long partly at the hands of an evil school headmistress. The movie is fairly short at 97 minutes, so it is easy enough to sit through, though it still took me a few days. It is a nice movie and feels very timeless, but at the same time, is about what one would expect. It is interesting that the actress who plays the little princess in the movie is a member of the Pritzker family and has a billion dollar fortune today.
Written: 16 Aug 2025
Owned on: Digital