I confess I have a movie crush on Bérénice Bejo. Maybe it’s because she has come to SIFF four times, maybe it is because she is married to Michel Hazanavicius, maybe it’s because she was nominated for an Oscar (for The Artist), or maybe it is because she served me bread and cheese at her flat in Paris. Or maybe it is because I know she is not really French but was born in Buenos Aires and has just completed a new movie by one of my favorite directors, Pablo Trapero. In any case, she stars as Lea in ominous thriller Three Peaks, a woman with a possessive 8-year-old son Tristan and a Viking-like boyfriend named Aaron. They take a vacation high up in the mountains. Physical and psychological landscapes are at the center of the film as Aaron takes Tristan on a mountain hike, and the boy’s rebellion against his temporary father escalates to dangerous heights.
Three Peaks screens tonight at the 44th annual Seattle International Film Festival, which happens through June 10. More recommended SIFF films here; and all SIFF films here.