海角大神

Simon (Kacey Mottet Klein) is a 12-year-old Swiss boy who lives with his sister, Louise (L茅a Seydoux), in a large, run-down housing complex in a valley situated beneath a sky-high ski resort catering to the wealthy. The contrast between the life he has and the life he would like to have could not be starker.

鈥淪ister鈥� (鈥淟鈥檈nfant d鈥檈n haut 鈥�), directed and co-written by Ursula Meier, follows Simon鈥檚 conniving, unnerving attempts to get ahead. Ferrety and quicksilver, he always has an eye to the main chance. It鈥檚 one of the many excellences of this film that Meier doesn鈥檛 sentimentalize this boy or convert him into some working-class antihero.

Simon鈥檚 chief occupation 鈥� profession, really 鈥� is stealing from the rich skiers whose bags of unguarded equipment are ripe for the picking. Having secured a ski-lift pass, even though he doesn鈥檛 ski, Simon rifles through the piles and helps himself to food, gloves, goggles, and skis, which he then sells in the valley as 鈥渃learance鈥� items. (Few buyers believe him.) Louise, still in her 20s, perpetually walking out on jobs and men, contributes little to the arrangement. Simon supports them with his stealing, but one gets the feeling he would steal anyway 鈥� for the thrill and the sense of entitlement. When one of the seasonal workers at the resort (Martin Compston) catches him in a storage room and withholds the booty from the boy, Simon snaps back, 鈥淕ive me my money for the skis.鈥� He justifies his thefts by saying that the resort-goers 鈥渁re so rich they don鈥檛 care and they鈥檒l just buy a new one.鈥�

Atop the aerie Simon feels momentarily moneyed. He pretends to be the son of wealthy parents and, for sport almost, insinuates himself into the lives of his prey. One mother (Gillian Anderson) and her young brood are sitting ducks, although Simon overplays his hand. He offers to pay for their meal, and, even when the offer is turned down, persists to the point of desperation. It鈥檚 one of the few times in the film when Simon loses his cool, and he does so because he can鈥檛 turn off the impersonation. He鈥檚 locked into his fantasy.

He鈥檚 not easily defeated. A skier catches Simon stealing his goggles and pounds him in full view of some resort guests, and Simon just picks himself up and moves on. He enlists children to aid him in his stealth raids. He has no great illusions about Louise, who always seems to be exiting whatever situation she鈥檚 in (often in high-heeled white boots).

He taunts her at one point: 鈥淭he day I鈥檓 bigger than you what will you do?鈥� No love is lost between these hardscrabble siblings, and yet they are bonded by their need to survive. In a way, Louise is as much of a dissembler as Simon; she鈥檚 just groggier.

There鈥檚 a great moment when Louise brings a man into their cramped apartment at night and proceeds to the bedroom as Simon, on the couch, instinctively breaks a cigarette and sticks the filters in his ears. No doubt he鈥檚 done this before. The routine of his life, in general, is highly predictable, except for those eruptive moments when he鈥檚 caught out. The movie follows his life through the Christmas to Easter ski season, and when the snows melt, Simon is suddenly without a guise. He鈥檚 still charged up, but he鈥檚 also bereft. Swinging alone on the ski lifts, he seems more isolated than ever, although he鈥檚 the sort of kid who is alone even in crowds.

Meier introduces a major plot twist about halfway through, but it鈥檚 much more than a gimmick. It succeeds in both explaining Simon and Louise and extending their mysteriousness. Meier is not a big one for back story, and yet what little we know of Simon and Louise seems like plenty. Despite the film鈥檚 obvious class trappings, she doesn鈥檛 turn 鈥淪ister鈥� into a socioeconomic case study. Shot in a glancing, often hand-held style, it has a documentary feel without seeming ostentatious 鈥� as is sometimes the case in the films of the Dardenne brothers, a clear influence on Meier.

Her film is closer to Truffaut鈥檚 鈥淭he 400 Blows鈥� in the way it gets inside the gumption and desperation of childhood lived on the edge. It鈥檚 a terrific, bracingly sad movie. Grade: A- (Unrated.)