Only
Japanese cinema could produce such an effortlessly uplifting film about a
fractured family. The three Koda sisters have long been estranged from their
prodigal father, but when they attend his funeral, they discover their
fifteen-year-old stepsister is a keeper. The same is true of her film. Hirokazu
Kore-eda brings his characteristic grace and sensitivity to the adaptation of Akimi
Yoshida’s slice-of-life manga, Our Little
Sister (trailer
here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
Sachi
Koda is the responsible one. She pays the bills as an RN and serves as a
maternal stand-in for her two (then three) sisters. Yoshino is a binge-drinker,
but somehow she slacks by working in various financial services jobs. Chika Koda
is the kooky one, but at least she and her retired mountain-climber boyfriend have
steady jobs at a sporting goods store. Not so surprisingly, Suzu Asano really
doesn’t have her thing yet. For the last several years, she has tended to their
ailing father. When the sisters attend his funeral (including Sachi, a late
game-time arrival), they are quickly charmed by the shy young girl. Deducing
her problematic relationship with her home-wrecking mother, they invite her to
stay with them in Kamakura.
You
could say very little happens from here on out, except that the four sisters
proceed to live their lives. The three Koda sisters have absolutely no trouble
accepting Asano as one of their own, but she will finally have to start
asserting her place in the world. Sachi Koda is supposed to be the smart one,
but she is conducting an affair with a married doctor due to transfer to
America for advanced specialty training. Presumably, she will have to make a
choice between him and an offer to head-up the new geriatric-hospice ward. It
would be a big promotion, but an awfully depressing one. Yet, she seems to have
the compassionate skillset for that kind of work.
Much
to everyone’s surprise, Yoshino Koda might kind-of sort-of be getting it
together as the assistant to a bankruptcy advisor. Unfortunately, Sachiko
Ninomiya, the beloved proprietress of the Kodas’ favorite diner, might need his
services when she is diagnosed with aggressively terminal cancer. Of course,
Chika Koda continues to drift along. Occasionally, the Kodas’ even more
estranged mother turns up, but Sachi does her best to vibe her away. He just
wants to provide a stable environment for Asano, but it would probably help if
she worked on a few of her own issues.
OLS is definitely a
quiet film that might even be uncharitably described as meandering, but what
exactly would you like to see befall these charming sisters? A zombie
apocalypse, perhaps? The pleasures of Kore-eda’s film comes in meeting these
characters—and they are considerable. As Asano, Suzu Hirose is deeply
endearing, but her performance in grounded in exquisite sadness. She is
terrific, but the luminous Haruka Ayase might even shine brighter as profoundly
complicated and humane Sachi. Masami Nagasawa and Kaho add plenty of zest and
attitude as the younger Koda sisters, while Jun Fubuki and Lily Franky quietly
lower the emotional boom as Ninomiya and her loyal partner.
