In Japan, three sisters live together in an old, large house that was owned by their grandmother, and in which they spent their childhood. They stayed in the house after their Dad left their Mum for another woman, and then when their Mum did the same with another man.
It was up to the oldest Sachi (Haruka Ayase) to bring up the other two, Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa) and Chika (Kaho). Now all grown up with jobs, they are coexisting in mostly harmony when they learn about the death of their Dad and they reluctantly attend the funeral. At that event, they meet their younger half-sister, Suzu (Suzu Hirose) and she accepts their invitation to live with them.
What unfolds is a quietly brilliant story of sisterly love, simmering feelings and of the meaning of loss. Elegantly paced, lacking in any overly dramatic moments and dealing with family relationships in a subtle, non sentimental way, I found it a deeply moving piece and I couldn’t help thinking that this was one film that Hollywood would not remake in its current form. If you compare it to something that had similar themes, the overly sugary bilge that was Parenthood (1989), and you will see how brilliantly director Hirokazu Koreeda delivers Hirokazu Koreeda’s spare and intelligent screenplay.
The performances are all first class, especially that of Suzu Hirose. It is rare to see a child performance that naturalistic and non-mannered, and stands comparison with the best such performance in recent years by Zsófia Psotta in last year’s White God.
Beautifully shot throughout by Mikiya Takimoto, with one outstanding scene of a bike ride under cherry blossoms, and enhanced by a sparsely used score by Yôko Kanno, this is a film that will linger in the memory for some time.
Rating: 9.25 out of 10