Sister

Ursula Meier's exquisitely acted character study serves as a reminder that downhill skiing is hardly a sport for the poor, especially not with all the transportation and equipment costs involved. Resourceful 12-year-old Simon (Kacey Mottet Klein) routinely hits the Swiss slopes in order to rob skiers of their supplies, later selling items to friends and sharing the spoils with his older sister, Louise (Léa Seydoux), who would rather hang out with her flashy boyfriend (who represents a chance at a more comfortable future) than try to earn money. No one at the ski resort notices Simon's smuggling operation—until Irish cook Mike (Martin Compston) catches him in the act. Simon tells Mike that his parents are gone and that he needs money for “pasta and toilet paper,” so Mike helps him to move some of the goods. This encounter emboldens Simon, who soon ingratiates himself with another foreigner named Kristin (Gillian Anderson), telling her that his parents are busy running their hotel. Whether she believes it or not, Kristin provides him with a brief, yet tantalizing taste of a more conventional life. In truth, however, there is more to Simon's domestic situation than he lets on. As the seasons change, Simon's relationships are stretched to the breaking point, but there's a glimmer of hope that better days might lie ahead. A powerful coming-of-age drama, this is highly recommended. (K. Fennessy)