Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

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.

"L'enfant d'en haut" the title in French, is "Sister" in English. I had to strain a little with my mother tongue to work out the title - My literal translation gave "The child from above" But after watching the movie I concluded that it perhaps was The child from the mountain top. This seemed more appropriate for me. As for "Sister" This also can be thought as fairly appropriate.I was rather annoyed at the first half, depicting a child stealing as the only way to get by and supporting a derelict sister who did not seem to do anything to help herself. I felt there was such waste of energy and little constructive to offer in a world already saturated by petty crimes.But as the story continued it became a lot more interesting and meaningful and kept me totally engrossed to see the outcome.Before coming to IMDb I checked "Allo Cine" a similar site in French. There were the two last worst and best review. The worst one gave only 1/2 a mark stating that the "bourgeois" did it again as usual transferring their own hangup to the "poor" society to which they have not insight or idea about its living condition. ( or something to this effect). I believe most of us in some ways are isolated in our own social surrounding and it takes much effort to look or want to look at others introspectively. There are always some reasons for us to go one way or the other regardless of who we are or where we are. So I dismiss this view that states such disdain on the part of "the better of people" Some are very comfortable thanks to their hard work and also sometime a little luck. I don't think this film is set out to ease the rich people's burden to be different than their not so wealthy counterpart. I see a very good attempt to zoom down unto a very sad situation and portrait its protagonist in a very raw manner to an excellent result. I also admire the finish, simple but emphatic to the depth of its sorry situation.

'Sister' is the Swiss entry for both the Academy and Spirit Award nomination in the best foreign language film category. It's a very well-acted, bleak portrait of the relationship between a 12/13 year old boy, Simon, and his older caretaker, Louise, played by Léa Seydoux.HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD. For a good part of the film, we're led to believe that Louise, is Simon's older sister, after Simon claims that their parents were killed in a car accident. Eventually, however, it's revealed that Louise is actually the child's mother.Most of the plot takes place at a Swiss ski resort, where Simon mainly pilfers expensive skis and ski accessories from well-off, unsuspecting tourists and supports himself and his mother, by selling the items (principally to employees at the resort). Along the way, Simon befriends a British resort employee who helps him sell some of the stolen merchandise. On one occasion, a tourist catches Simon stealing from him and the child suffers a beating, resulting in a bloody nose and bruises on his body (do you really believe, no one at the resort would have called the police on their cell phone, when they saw an adult attack a young child?).Louise makes it clear to Simon that she never wanted him and refuses to hardly parent him at all. The unloved boy is so desperate for affection that he offers her money, if she'll just cuddle him in bed. Meanwhile, Louise refuses to support the two, and for most of the film, selfishly takes money from the boy to support herself. She also seeks out abusive boyfriends, ignores the effect those relationships have on Simon and often leaves the child to his own devices.It becomes rather clear that Simon's criminality is tied directly to Louise's neglect and extremely poor parenting. You'll have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit to believe that there are people as extreme as Louise. In real life, wouldn't a narcissist like Louise, simply make sure Simon goes to school, to keep him out of her hair? And if he ends up as a truant, the authorities would have no problem shipping him off to reform school. Yes I know she's supposed to be out of it, but it just seems a little too convenient, that no ever reports her and little Simon gets away with his pint size theft routine, for so long. And also what exactly is director Usrula Meier's overall point? That without love, kids can end up with some really bad problems? Even before Simon poaches the watch, causing Louise to lose her job, we pretty much realize that Simon's downward spiral will not reverse course (in other words, we GET the point that this indeed, is a TRAGIC situation, way before the denouement). Yes, it's clever and dramatic to show the two going in opposite directions on the cable lift at film's end, symbolizing that Simon will not get the help he needs from his mother, but how about letting reality intrude into the story for a minute? The appropriate ending would be for some social workers to intervene and place the child in foster care or some kind of institutional setting. But this film is more about hitting us over the head about the 'tragedy' of this grim relationship, instead of establishing a proper verisimilitude.'Sister's weak point is the rather one-note, simplistic portrait of the mother from hell. Are there people like that in real life? Maybe. But usually there's some kind of motive (is she a drug addict? Prostitute?)--it's all so sketchy. Why not find out a little bit more about her? Or is she so one-dimensional, that there's nothing more to learn?What keeps us interested is how far Simon will sink into the morass of criminality. In that respect, Meier is more successful in fascinating us as voyeurs in a crime drama, than the more unexplained and obvious dissection of a broken relationship between mother and child.

Another strange, weird item from the female director Ursula Meier who already gave us HOME, back in 2008. With her, you may expect the unexpected. Surprises within surprises. The perfect example of the best offbeat french product. The tale of a twelve years old boy who goes to ski resorts, up in the Alpes mountains, in order to steal skis and many other items. He has a "sister" - Léa Seydoux - who appears to be actually his mother. A very complex relationship between the two of them, and fascinating too. And I would understand that many audiences may not get it. So unusual. But I personally love that. I won't tell anything about the "sub characters" who are involved in this unclassable movie.The ending is also confusing, and you can think about it a long time after quiting the theatre.