Cert PG
127 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent mild bad language
Having previously watched the abstract High Rise, I found Hirokazu Koreeda's Our Little Sister to be the polar opposite.
This is a gentle, believable Japanese drama, centred on a fractured family, brought together following a funeral.
Haruka Ayase plays a capable young woman who is left to look after her two younger sisters after their father and, separately, their mother have left home.
She and her siblings (Masami Nagasawa and Kaho) attend their dad's funeral where they meet their 14-year-old half sister (Suzu Hirose) and, thereafter, invite her to move in with them.
The meat of the movie then focuses on the developing dynamic between the sisters.
I am an only child so Our Little Sister did not have as powerful effect on me as it would on those with brothers or sisters but I could see parallels to the interaction between my two adult children.
The relationships between each of the four, particularly the elder two, are skilfully drawn with deep-seated love always winning through the toughest moments.
Ayase impresses as the senior sister who manages to juggle the pressures of duty at home and at work, while Hirose is breezy as the soccer-playing teenager who embraces her new life with gusto and good grace.
This is another film which offers the chance to explore Japanese culture and prompted me to want to save up and make a long overdue visit to the land of the rising sun.
But Our Little Sister will not be for everyone. It offers little in the way of concrete action. Instead, it relies on the observations of family life.
Reasons to watch: offers an insight into Japanese culture
Reasons to avoid: will be too light for many tastes
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6/10
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