Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

SnoopyStyle Simon (Kacey Mottet Klein) is a thief stealing from the foreigners at the ski resort. He lives with his aimless irresponsible sister Louise (Léa Seydoux). She's left yet another job and has questionable relationships. He gets caught by resort worker Mike (Martin Compston) but instead he starts selling the stolen skis to him. He takes bigger and bigger risks. He's an expert liar. He befriends resort patron Kristin Jansen (Gillian Anderson) pretending to be a rich kid.It's a pretty good performance from Kacey of a ballsy character. It does need to amp up the danger for the boy. While the reveal is great, it doesn't really raise the danger. Maybe if they could add a thug looking for money or children services looking to take Simon away. Also it would be great to dig deeper into Louise's problems. Overall this is a little bit disturbing but needs to raise the tension much higher.

The_late_Buddy_Ryan Glad to see so many positive reviews of this one. It's a fascinating, powerful film about two young people—a potty-mouthed artful dodger and a soft-faced older girl he calls "frangine" ("sis")—trying to live by their wits at a Swiss ski resort. Léa Seydoux's sulky beauty makes her perfect for the role of Louise; Kacey Mottet Klein, then barely into his teens, gives an amazing performance as Simon. Didn't recognize Gillian Anderson as the Englishwoman who takes a motherly interest. The slangy (not to say skanky) dialogue may be useful to students of advanced conversational French. Ursula Meier's first feature, "Home," is a total headtrip, longer on concept than plot and reminiscent of 50s absurdist satires of modern life by Ionesco and Jacques Tati; this one has real visceral impact. Both "Sister" and "Home" are available on streaming Netflix.

Sindre Kaspersen French-Swiss screenwriter, actress and director Ursula Meier's second feature film which she co-wrote with Swiss sociologist, author and screenwriter Antoine Jaccoud and French author and screenwriter Gilles Taurand, is inspired by an idea from the director. It premiered In competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2012, was shot on location in Switzerland and is a France-Switzerland co-production which was produced by producers Denys Freyd and Ruth Waldburger. It tells the story about a 12-year-old boy named Simon who lives in an apartment block in an industrial area nearby a ski resort in Switzerland with his older sister named Louise. As his sister spends most of her time with her various boyfriends, Simon innately thinks that it's his responsibility to support them so he frequently finds his way to the ski resort up in the mountains where he steals equipment and sells it to the tourists.Distinctly and precisely directed by French-Swiss filmmaker Ursula Meier, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated mostly from the two main characters' viewpoints, draws a humane and heart-wrenching portrayal of a somewhat uncommon relationship between two siblings. While notable for its naturalistic and surreal milieu depictions, fine cinematography by cinematographer Agnès Godard, costume design by costume designer Anna Van Brée and excellent choice of location, this character-driven story about a boy who meets and Englishman and who breaks moral rules in desperation, for the sake of achieving affection from the person he cares the most for and to make that person happy, depicts two interrelated and heartrending studies of character where two human beings who are marred by their backgrounds does what their hearts and minds tells them to do and contains an efficient score by composer John Parish.This conversational, political, at times humorous, non-moralizing and tangible though imaginary psychological drama about interpersonal relations, communication and human conditions which is set in the Swiss Alps during a skiing season and where a child who keeps on going up to a place where people are living a lifestyle that is far away from his and keeps on coming back down to his reality where things are not quite as sunny, has taken on the role as provider due to the situation he and the only person he has is in, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle continuity, good dialog, emotional substance and the prominent and commendable acting performances by child actor Kacey Mottet Klein and French actress Léa Seydoux. An atmospheric, somewhat sociological and affective love-story which gained, among numerous other awards, a Silver Bear Special Award at the 62nd Berlin Film Festival in 2012.

Howard Schumann For scrawny 12-year-old Simon (Kacey Mottet Klein), life is up and down. Going up, however, does not mean moving up the ladder of success but only riding a cable car to do his "work" at the top of a mountain ski resort, a playground for wealthy tourists. Ursula Meier's heartbreaking Sister, Switzerland's submission for Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars, is built around the continual movement of the cable car, moving up to the white wonderland of the glittering slopes, and down to the crumbling housing projects that look out on a desolate and muddy industrial plain. Like the marginalized poor in America, Simon is an unnoticed presence.He is a crafty entrepreneur whose work consists of stealing skis, gloves, goggles, sneaking in and out of locker rooms, emptying coat pockets and grabbing sandwiches and anything else he can from knapsacks to bring home to his older sister Louise (Lea Seydoux), a lay about in her early twenties who cannot hold a steady job and goes from one boyfriend to another. For Simon, a sled is not a fun ride in the snow but a means to stay alive, a tool to strap stolen skis and drag them down below to restore and repair so he can sell them to the highest bidder. Simon, of course, rationalizes his actions by saying "They don't miss them. They just go and buy new ones." Supported by a solid script by the director and Antoine Jacquod and the striking cinematography of Agnés Godard (Beau Travail, The Dreamlife of Angels), Sister takes place during the ski season from Christmas to Easter, as the camera peeks behind the glamour. When Simon is caught in the act of stealing by seasonal worker, Mike (Martin Compston), a friendly Scot, Mike automatically assumes that he's stealing to buy more hi-tech gadgets. Taken aback when he learns that the boy is stealing to buy food, toilet paper, and other necessities to keep him and his sister alive, he joins with him in his questionable activities.The early sequences have a bounce and energy that makes it feel as if the film may be moving in a comic direction, but comic it is not. This becomes very apparent in the film's second half when another (somewhat strained) dimension is added to our knowledge of Simon's love-hate bond with his sister, and we watch helplessly as their interaction changes from playful to a no holds barred display of anger and frustration. While some may see Simon as a criminal in training, Klein makes him lovable enough for us to view him as a confused little boy, desperate for affection, at times acting like an adult and at times a forlorn child. We know instinctively, however, that unless there is some sort of intervention, the path Simon is on will lead to a dead end.Unfortunately, however, there are no parents (foster or otherwise), no social workers, no schools or teachers in sight, not even police around to put up a stop sign. People walk by him as they pass by the homeless every day in the streets of most big cities, looking away, thinking "how sad." Nominated for Most Promising Actor at the 2013 César Awards, Kacey Klein's natural performance is one of remarkable depth and understanding. He does not emote or think the role, he lives in it and we are drawn into his life and experience his loneliness as our own. Also remarkable is Lea Seydoux who brings the irresponsible but ultimately sympathetic Louise to life.Based on Meier's memories of growing up near a ski resort near Geneva, Switzerland and her recollection of a little boy who was known as a thief, Sister is a devastating look at the result when an unwanted child is brought into the world. We discover how truly alone Simon is in scenes where he has to pay Louise to give him a hug, and when his neediness pushes him to cling to the mother of two boys (Gillian Anderson) who buys him lunch at the resort. If, as Victor Hugo said, "Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved," Meier makes it evident that growing up in a world without love, even the most skillful and resilient child cannot fill the gaping hole it leaves.