Our Little Sister

Ah, such a beautiful film. Just saw it at the Dublin Film Festival, picked it somewhat at random, and did not regret it at all. If you want to have a break from all the noise around and want some peace and quite then this is the film to watch. There isn't much action here, just 3+1 sisters living their day by day lives. Although, the lives are not at all empty, you will find that there is quite a bit of love and pain, decisions big and small, regrets and forgiveness, but they are all expressed in rather subtle tones. And despite anything, you keep feeling that things are getting better and people are growing together rather than falling apart. Such a feel good movie. And, although it is set up in modern times, there is a good measure of tranquility of old Japan mixed in. Small town, old house, veranda into the garden, plum tree, and of course sakura. So all people and events are intertwined with beauty that is around us. Cinematography and acting are flawless. You just completely immerse into the film and are surprised when it stops. And of course, if you've ever been to Japan, there will be many moments that will bring good memories of this incredible place and culture.

The story about sisters lived in Kamakura. It starts that the father of three sisters dies. Then, they know the father has youngest sister, Suzu, whose mother is different from theirs. Suzu needs a place she can be, so she moves to a house that three sisters live. Four sisters have each trouble such as love and work. Also, they think about other sisters very much. Some people don't like this movie or they are bored because the logical development of this movie isn't clear and the story advances slowly. However, I was sympathized about the feeling of each sister and I was moved to tears by their love. I have a sister and two brothers, so I did more than others. In addition, the atmosphere of Kamakura is good and fits with this slowly movie. You wants to go to Kamakura if you watch this movie.

This movie has all the elements to be a perfect Japanese movie usable for a Wstern audience. We have a story about tree sisters living alone in a traditional house facing everyday problems like many Ghibli productions, trains in the mountains, funerals as in the "Departures", little restaurant and cherry blossoms. However here we have an opposite narration compared to the movies of Ozu that made us fall in love with that absolutely Japanese simplicity as well unexpressed depth of emotions inside them. In other words, the beginning of those black and white masterpieces was one of familiar tranquility. A tranquility then threatened and finally restored. Let's think to "Tokyo Monogatari" in which at the end the old mother went back to the village where the younger daughter waits for her. Or the old father giving her daughter as spouse to another house at the end of "Sanma no aji". So there the key was finding the harmony. Like the regular sound of wood made by a bamboo fountain in a Japanese garden. Here in "Our little sister" we start from a situation of familiar disorder and in the end nothing changes so much. The hardships of the three sisters remain the same. Sachi, the older one, still leads all the house and the garden by herself. Yoshino, the lovable middle one, still looks for a new boyfriend whit out stopping the habit of drinking alone. Chika, the little one, still date with his naif boyfriend. But in the middle of all this something happened. They accepted in their lives the young sister Suzu, born after their father divorced. This young girl brought to their life a moment of happiness as well hope to going on to what they were doing. Suzu didn't change their life. Is not what can be called "a familiar earthquake". She should be compared nothing more to a blow of spring wind refreshing the house of the three sisters. This is another great difference from past production. We don't have strongly deep feelings. The sisters lives the joy of everyday. Somebody criticize Koreeda for this aspect accusing him of making a movie of good atmosphere and not of emotions. However family has changed. Japan has changed. The three sisters here stands for the contemporary Japan with low birth rate and feared by the earthquake of 2011. A Japan concerned more to what is going on today then to what can happen tomorrow. So we find ourself on the other side to the society growing fast, sometimes too much, in the Ozu's productions where smoking chimneys made their comparison a lot of times. The end show us this idea more clear. The four girls looks over the sea on a shore while speaking about their future without having great expectations. We find no more girls waiting for their boyfriends while practicing on surf as in Kitano's "A scene at the sea". A masterpiece filmed in the highest economic welfare of Japan of the late 80es. In Koreeda's movie we find contemporary girls simply hoping their everyday life can be as always was until then. With hardships but also joy. Without concerning too much about past,that is to say family and father, and future,or marriage and work. Paradoxically a contemporary return to the simplicity of "mono no aware". The medieval Japanese aesthetic principle of enjoy what is short-lived. As the cherry blossoms. As the windy teenage pureness of Sachi. The little sister that brings happiness.

This movie is 128 minutes long and at the end i was hoping it could go on for two more hours. For me it is the essence of what cinema should be. Great story real characters and real life ! Just a few days before i was watching SW7 and thought it was an OK movie but while watching "our little sister" i was realizing how much better cinema can be and how bad most Hollywood blockbusters really are. I know its like comparing a Michelin star cook to Mc Donald's but when you tasted both you realize one is art and one is fast food. One you eat because you're hungry (bored) and one because it tastes great. This movie is art because it touches you in a special way ... not you ego but your humanity.

Compared to Hirokazu Koreeda previous movie "like father like son" the story is very loose sometime you even think there is none. You also get tricked by the expectations other movies force you to have by repeating the same motives over and over again. I'm not sure if this is intentional or the movie is just so different.

Like most Japanese or Asian movies there is some stuff that could be a little bit to slapstick and melodramatic for western viewers but that's a very small price to pay.

If you don't count anime "our little sister" makes it in my top 5 Asian movies of all time. I highly recommend it.

This is by no means a simple watch, but it's a hugely pleasant one. Our Little Sister is a perfect example of how a slow, calm and natural film can pull you in so much deeper than something big and loud, with fantastic performances, beautiful directing, brilliant dialogue and an emotionally impressive, but never melodramatic story.

The most striking thing about this film is the directing. It's all very understated, but the director is so brilliant at giving you staggeringly beautiful vistas of the countryside landscape of Japan. It never takes over what's happening in the story, but the way that the natural world is presented in this film is so special, and makes it an absolute joy to watch.

The performances are great too. Again, with a very quiet and understated story, the actors all do a fantastic job at providing interesting drama and engaging character development, which makes the slow pacing of this film feel almost invisible, as you're able to be pulled in so effectively by the very human, realistic performances, which was so impressive to see.

And that ability to create a realistic drama continues in the film's dialogue. The performances are all fantastic, but without the brilliantly-written dialogue, that feels so natural and real, this film may not have been as brilliantly engrossing as it is. Luckily, however, every line is so well-crafted, and fits so well with whatever's going on on screen, that you become totally immersed in this film as if you're right there taking part in these conversations.

This is effectively a 'slice of life' drama, where we're not getting an over-the-top, cinematic melodrama, but one that just peers into some people's lives, and makes a compelling story out of it.

That's true for a lot of the film, and I definitely enjoyed following the brilliant plot here, but if there is one complaint that I do have with Our Little Sister, it lies within the way the story is told. Understated films are fantastic, and shouldn't be overlooked, but in this film, I felt as if it was just a little too quiet in its opening stage to get you fully up to speed with what's going on.

Don't get me wrong, the calm nature of the film is beautiful for the most part, but for the first twenty minutes or so, I did feel a little lost with the characters' various backgrounds and relationships due to little early exposition, which made for an occasionally frustrating watch at the beginning.

Overall, however, Our Little Sister is a wonderful film, and it uses understated drama in a brilliantly realistic and immersive way, helped further by great performances and fantastic directing.