Sister (2012)

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2062969/

In Competition at this year’s Berlinale is Ursula Meier’s second feature film L’enfant d’en haut, or Sister. Set in a popular tourist ski resort in the stunning Alps, the film focuses on 12 year old Simon (magnificently played by Kacey Mottet Klein) who lives in a basic block of flats in a lacklustre town at the bottom of the mountains with his unpredictable and non-present sister Louise, played by French It-girl Léa Seydoux. Simon spends his time taking the cable car up to the resort and sneaking around stealing people’s expensive ski equipment and rummaging through rucksacks for food to eat. He successfully sells the items on to workers at the resort and other kids in the town. The whereabouts of Simon’s parents are unknown and his relationship with his sister is tempestuous. We see as Simon meets people on his way around the resort, a kitchen worker (Martin Compston) who is as intrigued by Simon as we are and a tourist (Gillian Anderson) on holiday with her children, who invokes in Simon a basic desire for a mother.
This is a brilliant film both story wise and visually. There are plenty of beautiful shots of cable cars and mountains contrasted with Simon’s rudimentary place of abode, immediately visualising the luxury versus poverty in such close proximity. It is a great location to set a story and Simon’s story is beautifully constructed, revealing gradually and allowing us to really get to know him. The performances are outstanding, particularly Kacey Mottet Klein as Simon, a wise beyond his years kid who ensures he and his sister survive but yearns for some affection. Léa Seydoux is great as the unbalanced young woman who it seems also craves affection as she disappears for days on end with different men. Anderson’s character gives humanity to the more affluent people whom Simon views as having a disposable lifestyle, simply stating that they don’t miss the ski’s he steals, they can just buy another set.
The story has many emotional peaks for the audience but never dwells for too long on them, just like its protagonist, quickly moving on. Smaller moments in life are affectionately shown, such as Simon giving his sister a stolen coat, as she tries it on he tells her to turn around and again and again. It is these little details that make this film charming. There is a slightly predictable narrative twist but it doesn’t spoil the effectiveness of this tale. The characters are captivating throughout and I found myself immersed in this world completely for the duration. Director Meier and actor Klein successfully create a likeable character doing unlikeable things, and portray a young life full of hardship but with the strength and ability to carry on. One scene where Simon plays and rolls around on the snowy grass on his own reminds us of his real age and enhances the emotional dexterity of the storytelling.
Sister is an observant and often moving drama that explores the underbelly of society, feeding off the rich in order to survive. It is inventive and fresh and offers a completely original viewpoint on the rich and poor dynamic with an emotional depth that is rarely achieved by filmmakers. Meier creates and presents to us a slice of lower class realism in a highly constructed environment amongst an astonishing natural landscape. This is a captivating film which explores a miniscule portion of such a vast world and makes it both believable and significant.

Farewell, My Queen (2012)

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753813/

 As the opening film to this year’s Berlinale and one of the competition films, Farewell My Queen (Les Adieux a la Reine) has high expectations placed upon it. Unfortunately this historical drama was rather underwhelming. Set in Versailles in July 1789, the film follows Sidonie (brilliantly played by Léa Seydoux), a servant and reader to Queen Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger). Chaos slowly takes over the palace as France is on the brink of revolution and we see the effect it has on the servant’s quarters and behind the scenes at the palace. The Queen is rather fond of her reader Sidonie and confides in her as panic is setting in and rumours are aplenty. Marie Antoinette tells of her love for a Duchess (Virginie Ledoyen) and soon is asking a final request from Sidonie. But just how devoted and loyal is she to her Queen?
The element that struck me immediately about this film is the high level of realism and with a period piece this is quite startling. Lighting is a huge part of this film, each scene’s mood depicted by the type of light. To begin with we see stark daylight, revealing the itching scabs on Sidonie’s arms and in a later scene with the reader and her Queen, the scene is lit by firelight, illuminating Marie Antoinette in a dreamlike way, perhaps how Sidonie sees her. The look of this film is opulent realism, with lush fabrics and the setting of the magnificent Versailles shown in a realistic way, with no gloss or artificial lighting. Visually the film is stunning, with interesting camera angles and an abundance of close ups of the beautiful ladies’ faces.
Diane Kruger is a marvellous Antoinette and the ambiguous sexual tension with Sidonie is delicately crafted. Lea Seydoux is an excellent lead and makes the best out of her role as Sidonie, however, as one servant states they know nothing about her and we as the audience don’t either. This for me was the biggest problem with the film, I neither liked nor disliked the character and it really needed more investment in order to care about what happens. It feels like quite a distant viewpoint even though we are supposed to be seeing everything from the servant’s perspective and eavesdropping with them. Perhaps this is intentional in order to allow the audience to feel the confusion that the people at Versailles felt, but it didn’t work for me.
I found the ending rather abrupt, with no real climax or conclusion. That said the film didn’t drag and was engaging enough for the duration but it left me feeling perplexed as to why it was good but not great. The acting was strong throughout but the lead character was not strong enough and the story felt rather shallow. There were plenty of beautiful landscape shots and visually this film is creative with imaginative use of lighting, often contrasting total darkness with bright daylight. But unfortunately the film didn’t have the impact it could have had with such great actors and a fascinating story. There are some light humorous moments so that it doesn’t become a stale historical piece but there’s not enough to make it memorable.
All in all a beautiful and enjoyable enough film but lacking anything to make it remarkable.