Sister – L’enfant d’en haut (2012)

Directed by: Ursula Meier | 97 minutes | drama | Actors: Kacey Mottet Klein, Léa Seydoux, Martin Compston, Gillian Anderson, Jean-François Stévenin, Yann Trégouët, Gabin Lefebvre, Magne-Håvard Brekke, Simon Guélat, Mike Winter, Yannick Ruiz, Vincent Fontannaz, Alain Börek, Frédéric Mudry, Ange Ruze, Enrique Estevez

A movie set in the Swiss Alps might make you think of a romantic comedy – how a bumbling rookie falls in love with the experienced ski instructor, or a suspenseful thriller – how an adulterous man gets rid of his annoying and spoiled wife by pulling her out of the ski lift. to push. Ursula Meier took a different approach: like her debut, ‘Home’ (2008), ‘Sister’ (‘L’enfant d’en haut’) is a social family drama, about an orphaned boy of around twelve and his sister who is actually should take care of him. The setting is at least as surprising as the story.

In ‘Sister’ it is actually mainly about the ‘brother’. The very young Simon (Kacey Mottet Klein) does things he is not only too young for, but also can’t stand the light of day. Skillfully stealing skis, ski helmets, gloves and goggles from unsuspecting vacationers, he then sells them again. He manages to bring in enough money to take care of himself and his adult sister Louise (Léa Seydoux). The latter is a freeloader of the purest kind, she allows herself to be seduced by Jan and everyone, seduces them, after which she scolds them, sips a cigarette and then calls them rotten fish again. She can’t sit out a job, so she’d better keep her industrious brother as a friend.

Although what Simon does is of course absolutely unacceptable, he immediately conquers your heart. That’s in large part because of his sensitive nature: you see how he craves attention from Louise, and therefore feels that his actions can only be the result of his love for her. The young actor’s natural playing goes through the marrow and bone. Klein’s facial expressions and posture betray a talent that we will hopefully see a lot more of. In addition to Klein, Seydoux also shines in a role that does not show her from her most charming side. Not an easy task to play such an (mostly always) obnoxious, selfish monster, certainly not because Seydoux is not making a caricature of Louise, but a young woman whose life choices you can understand to a certain extent. Besides Klein and Seydoux we see Martin Compston and the always reliable Gillian Anderson in small roles, but especially Anderson’s story is not very developed.

The contrast between rich and poor is naturally emphasized geographically in ‘Sister’ – thanks to the efforts of camerawoman Agnès Godard: the snow-white slopes where the wealthy of the earth whiz effortlessly down, towards – but never crossing the border – the valley where Simon and Louise live in a gray dilapidated box of blocks of an apartment complex. You can almost smell the stench, the poverty and decay are so clearly visible on the screen. ‘Sister’ is a punch in the stomach, a moving and disconcerting film about family ties and about adults who never grew up and children who had to grow up too quickly. And oh so beautifully filmed.