Three Peaks
There’s plenty of drama in the first part of Jan Zabeil’s family drama to fill a 94-minute movie, but he takes a left turn that, while organic to his film’s narrative, still seems manufactured and melodramatic. That doesn’t mean it was not compelling; just that Zabeil seemed less confident in telling this story in a straightforward manner.
Aaron (Alexander Fehling) is on a vacation with his girlfriend, Lea (Bérénice Bejo), and her son, Tristan (Arian Montgomery). They are in the Italian mountains, and Aaron is hoping to build a relationship with Tristan, who misses his biological father. Aaron wants to do right by Tristan, and he loves Lea; she’s finding it difficult for him to get accustomed to Aaron, and his father calls him every day on a phone he got Tristan. Tristan is very close to his mother, and doesn’t see Aaron as a replacement for his father. When they go on a hiking trip through the mountains, we’ll see whether they can bond when the terrain gets more perilous.
The first half of the film does a solid job setting up the character dynamics, but it feels like a slowburn, and isn’t quite as interesting dramatically. The second half, which has Aaron and Tristan alone, is far more compelling to watch. As someone who enjoyed the outdoors and camping, I love watching characters dealing with the elements. Zabeil’s direction in the film’s second half is very direct, simple, and exciting, but that doesn’t really mean I can get behind the way the story unfolds. While it does have some tension, both personal and in an adventurous nature, it feels like a dark turn in a story that does not really feel genuine to who the characters are, and is more than a little malicious. The last few minutes are compelling to watch unfold, though, even if I don’t necessarily know that this is a direction the characters would go in when it comes to the real world.
