Sister
Adopt Films | Release Date: October 5, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The PlaylistEmma BernsteinOct 4, 2012
Sister is as bleak and as beautiful as its snowy, mountainous setting. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumOct 17, 2012
The high-low setting effectively reinforces the emotional geography of both lost souls. Gillian Anderson makes a brief, well-placed appearance as one of the rich. Read full review
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 5, 2012
Her film is closer to Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" in the way it gets inside the gumption and desperation of childhood lived on the edge. It's a terrific, bracingly sad movie. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnOct 4, 2012
Sister may not arrive at a happy ending, but the lack of resolution -- capped off by the powerful last image --completes its journey to a place of rousing emotional clarity. Read full review
90
TimeMary PolsOct 8, 2012
Director Ursula Meier's Sister is a penetrating study of familial bonds, quietly devastating in parts, beautiful on whole and destined to make you fall in love with a practiced and entirely amoral preteen thief. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaNov 2, 2012
Haunting and sad. And absolutely worth seeing. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisOct 18, 2012
It's delicately made, yet forceful in its delicacy. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasOct 3, 2012
In an unusually subtle performance by a child actor, Kacey Mottet Klein stars as a crafty ragamuffin. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenOct 20, 2012
Meier and cinematographer Agnès Godard make potent use of the setting's alternating highs and lows, delivering a jolt of heartbreaking hope in the film's final image. Read full review
80
Total FilmTom DawsonOct 17, 2012
The strong supporting gallery - including Gillian Anderson and Martin Compston - feels underused, but Meier and her ace DoP Agnès Godard make shrewd use of the dramatic alpine locations. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 4, 2012
Trading the cooler, more emotionally detached style and vibe that characterized "Home," her debut feature, about a family falling apart, Ms. Meier quietly goes for the emotional jugular in Sister. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichOct 2, 2012
Meier is clearly carving out a path all her own; the next one should be a gem. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJan 17, 2013
The style and subject matter recall the films of the Dardenne brothers, ("The Kid With a Bike") and while Sister never reaches the heights of their best work, it earns the comparison. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoNov 9, 2012
The real acting laurels go to Klein, who is both an adult and a child - by turns smart and not so smart, brave and fearful, caring and full of disdain. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeOct 5, 2012
Meier's tight focus on her primary characters pays off: Seydoux brings a strong array of emotions to a highly unsympathetic part. And Klein, whether plugging his ears with cigarette filters or suddenly embracing a woman he barely knows, is heartbreaking. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJesse CataldoOct 2, 2012
Ursula Meier's film is sustained by a sturdy emotional engine and some intrepidly thoughtful characterization. Read full review
70
NPRMark JenkinsOct 5, 2012
Sister offers several reasons why the boy can't or won't return to ski-resort robbery next winter. But the movie also quietly suggests that, whatever he does, Simon will always be the boy from down below, boldly impersonating someone born to the heights. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonOct 4, 2012
Likely to create considerable nervous tension among viewers who think they've seen this all before. They haven't. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick SchagerOct 2, 2012
Writer/director Ursula Meier uses a stripped-down, naturalistic aesthetic full of well-organized compositions that pay close attention to shifts in character mood, comportment, and behavior. Read full review
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