Our Little Sister Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose. Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Rated PG. Opens Friday at Regal Village Square.
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Our Little Sister begins with the main characters headed to their father’s funeral, where they meet the half-sister they never knew about, the product of their father’s affair with a woman he later left their mother to marry. And yet like everything in this lovely, emotionally rich movie, this situation fraught with tension and turmoil is played with maximum subtlety, as Kore-eda and his fantastic cast convey the complex feelings of the main characters without resorting to histrionics or melodrama.
Anyone familiar with the Japanese filmmaker’s work shouldn’t be surprised that Our Little Sister captures small interactions so beautifully, and builds up a layered portrait of the main characters’ everyday lives in those meaningful gestures and exchanges. Taking place over the course of about a year, the movie follows adult sisters Sachi (Haruka Ayase), Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa) and Chika (Kaho), who still live together in their rustic childhood home, as they take in teenage Suzu (Suzu Hirose), whose parents are now both dead.
Minor conflicts arise and build over the course of the movie, but nothing truly threatens the bond that these sisters have, which they generously extend to their newly discovered sibling. There are romances, break-ups, family squabbles, illnesses and financial difficulties, but there are at least as many moments of simple joy and connection. It’s all part of life, which Kore-eda captures with genuinely moving authenticity.
