The story in “Three Peaks,” written and directed by Jan Zabeil, starts calmly, but be prepared for the tension to mount as events commence to the point of grave danger.
Excellent actress Bérénice Bejo plays Léa, a French woman in a new relationship with a German, Aaron (Alexander Fehling). But she has a seven-year-old son, Tristan (Arian Montgomery), with an American father. As one might expect, the boy is upset and would like to see his parents reunited.
When Léa, Aaron and Tristan vacation together in the Italian Dolomites, Aaron makes a strong effort to be nice to Tristan and win him over. As he learns, this is not an easy task.
Aaron takes Tristan for a hike in the mountains one morning. Filmmaker Zabeil does an effective job in capturing the snowy mountain atmosphere. The lad, whose emotions are torn, clearly resists the overtures even though there is somewhat of a personal rapport. There comes a point when Tristan rebels and decides to leave Aaron and sneak off on his own.
Aaron desperately tries to find Tristan. The mountains are dangerous for a boy alone, as well as for an adult, and ultimately, when Aaron and Tristan don’t return, a search party sets out to find them.
The crisis is posed: Will Tristan and Aaron be saved? If so, what will happen to the relationship between Léa, Aaron, and Tristan? And what about the boy’s father?
Zabeil has concocted and made a film that escalates a vacation into a matter of life and death, and the drama commands our attention, especially with the strong cast and the scenic ambiance. A Greenwich Entertainment release. Reviewed June 28, 2019.