Our Little Sister (2016)

"Our Little Sister" centers around four sisters, their lives and their relationships. It may look like a small, complacent, too slow and contemplative movie, but Koreeda, with the help of amazing acting all around, elevates the proceedings and delivers a really good movie.Sachi, Yoshino and Chika are three sisters that have lived together for some years. Their father left, marrying again, and their mother run away, leaving them behind. The death of the father brings all of them to his funeral, where they meet their half-sister Suzu. Sachi, the oldest, offers Suzu go living with them, and Suzu accepts, the four starting to live together.From that moment on the movie develops slowly, but securely, with great character development, a couple of very touching moments, and a focus on human relationships and the reasons behind our behavior. That Koreeda has restrained Haruka Ayase, charming Masami Nagasawa, happy-go-lucky Kaho and innocent but smart looking Suzu Hirose as the four sisters helps, as they embody their characters and bring them to life. The plot helps, with little vignettes that help develop the story and entice the viewer's attention.The movie is a little bit slow, but you won't care, because what you will care about is these four sisters, their world, their problems and the relationship they have between themselves and with all that surrounds them. Great.

According to IMDb, the director/screenplay writer Hirokazu Koreeda had Ozu and his style of directing in mind when he made this film. I agree that it is in some ways...though not all. First, like Ozu's films, this is a family story about people and it's a bit slow...or, more accurately, deliberate. Second, often the director uses a camera at floor level...like Ozu. But the film isn't strictly like this famed director, as the camera does not remain stationary and there are some outdoor shots which aren't exactly Ozu-like. None of this is meant to be derogatory...just some observations.The film begins with the death of three adults sisters' step-mother. They had no love for her, as their father left their mother for this other woman. But it also creates a problem...they have a half sister, Sozu*, from this marriage and the teenage girl now has no one...only three sisters she doesn't even know. Well, the three decide to move into their grandmother's old house and take care of Sozu. Through the course of the film, you learn about the three girls' mother, the guilt Sozu is unnecessarily carrying and what a sweet girl she is...and what a welcome addition she is to the family.There's no way around it..."Our Little Sister" is a slow film. But I didn't mind because it was handled so well--with lovely direction, some terrific acting and some very, very sweet moments...particularly at the end. Plus seeing how the angriest sister dealt with their mother was fascinating. All in all, a terrific film...but because of its pace, it's not for everyone.*Throughout the film, the English captions sometimes called the girl 'Sozu' and other times 'Suzu'. I am not sure which one is correct.

The Japanese film Umimachi Diary was shown in the U.S. with the title Our Little Sister (2015). Hirokazu Koreeda directed the movie.Haruka Ayase plays Sachi Kôda, one of three young-adult sisters living in a home owned by their mother. The other sisters are Yoshino, played by Masami Nagasawa, and Chika, played by Kaho. These actors look enough like each other to be sisters, and they are realistic characters. Each has her own personality, and, like any three people living together, they squabble.Their mother has abandoned them 14 years ago, so Sachi has been both mother and sister to them. As the movie opens, we learn that their father has died. The sisters go to the father's funeral, and meet their half-sister Suzu, who is portrayed very well by the young actor Suzu Hirose. She is their father's daughter, but she is the daughter of his second wife. He has married a third time. Now, she is an orphan, although her step-mother could provide for her. Instead, the three sisters invite her to come and live with them.The remainder of the movie is a calm reflection of Suzo's integration into the family. She actually knows their father better than any of the three older sisters, because she was with him from her birth until his death. So the older women ask her for more information about the father. Information about ancestors is important to the Japanese, and we see this theme repeated throughout the film.The movie was interesting to me because there was no fiery revelations, no scenes of caustic criticism, and no horribly sad moments. We follow the women through two years of life, and we get to know them and care about them.I learned the some facts about Japanese culture that I didn't know. For example, the spiritual importance of cherry blossoms, and the ritual of making plum wine.The acting was uniformly excellent. All the sisters are attractive in a low-key way. Haruka Ayase, the oldest sister, has been described as one of the most beautiful women on the planet, and I think this is true. However, what is striking about her in the movie is her calm, competent, dignified presence. She looks intelligent and caring, which is what her role calls for.This is a movie worth seeking out. We saw it in Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. It won't work as well on the small screen. Still, It's an outstanding movie, Don't miss it.

Three mostly-grown-up sisters, parentless through divorce and abandonment, grudgingly attend their father's funeral in a village in 'the middle of nowhere' and there meet 13-year-old Suzu, a half- sister they'd never heard of. The widow was the third wife and so wants nothing to do with Suzu, who was born of the second, but the three sisters quickly take to her and impulsively ask her to come live with them and share their larger more urban world and lives: they are, in short, building their own family on parental ruins. The attempt is rife with ups and downs and ins and outs, with concessions and sisterly squabbles and love and generosity and sorrow and sacrifice. Some may find it a bit too sweet; some may find it too long. Others may be grateful for a little sweetness in these days of ugliness and more than willing to 'settle in' to its relaxed pace and many charms. It may be a slight piece of work (you can't ask for a lot of depth in a movie that is based on graphic novel) but it's warm without being sticky, and very nicely done.