Winter Thief

Twelve-year-old Simon (Kacey Mottet Klein) lives alone with his older sister Louise (Léa Seydoux) in a bleak apartment block of a dreary industrial area. Just a few hundred yards above the valley lies a posh ski resort where, in winter, wealthy tourists enjoy snow, sun and luxury day after day. In order to secure a living for himself and Louise, Simon regularly takes the small cable car to the ski resort to steal the tourists' skis, equipment and bags. He then sells his loot among the other tenants in his apartment block. Simon does very well with this scam and is even able to put up with his sister after she loses her job. But as his hauls take on greater and greater proportions, the boy becomes reckless and makes mistakes - with fatal consequences for the little house of cards he and Louise have built around them.

Winter Thief is Ursula Meier's long-awaited follow-up to her award-winning 2008 Home. And Winter Thief has already wowed audiences at a number of festivals, too. The Silver Bear at the 2012 Berlinale is the highlight so far. With strong actors and quiet tones, Meier tells a moving and intense story that is, at first glance, a pure social drama. As such, Winter Thief works extremely well. Simon's thieving moves in the luxurious ski resort are riveting, but at times refreshingly amusing, the contrasts between the picturesque tourist town and the dreary industrial area are captured in fascinating imagery, and the complicated relationship between the boy and his older sister has a very special power due to the extremely good acting of Kacey Mottet Klein and Léa Seydoux.

As with Home, Meier manages very well to develop parallel worlds that couldn't be more different despite being in close proximity. The problem with the drama is its very bleak, almost depressing undertone. While Home alone had an enjoyable and engaging lightness due to its rather whimsical premise, despite the thoroughly dramatic story, Winter Thief is much heavier overall. The story about a boy who has given up his childhood and set up a criminal business in order to provide for his small family is rousing despite its worn narrative style, but it's also very tough stuff. It's the moments when Simon is surrounded by happy and - at least superficially - functioning families that make the boy's sad fate downright palpable. And when at the end through his acquaintance with a wealthy Englishwoman (X-Files star Gillian Anderson) it becomes clear that Simon will not be able to escape this fate either, the film leaves just at the end, despite a minimal glimmer of hope, rather a depressing and almost crushing feeling.

Who appreciates sophisticated and quiet arthouse dramas, but should not be deterred by the heaviness of the story. For the strong imagery and the even stronger acting of the actors make Winter Thief a moving drama that, despite minor lengths and its sometimes unwieldy staging, can be warmly recommended to all program cinema lovers

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp