✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Cinema

Our Little Sister film review ★★★★★

15 Apr 16 – 15 May 16, Event times vary

Hirokazu Kore-eda's Our Little Sister is sure to be one of the most poignant films you see this year

By CW Contributor on 11/4/2016

1 CW reader is interested
Our Little Sister, Photograph: Artifical Eye Publicity
Our Little Sister, Photograph: Artifical Eye Publicity
Our Little Sister film review 4 Our Little Sister film review James Stanfield
It’s impossible not to be charmed by Our Little Sister. Directed by Hirozaku Kore-eda, it's a story of sisterhood, shot with the eye of a landscape painter, and played with the kind of subtlety wherein each gesture is rich with meaning.


At the heart of the film is an old house: a sprawling family home in an almost unfeasibly picturesque seaside town. It’s in this house that three adult sisters, Sachi, Yoshino and Chika, live together following their parents' divorce. It’s a strange and beguiling place, and the sisters seem frozen in time, caught between the security of the family life and the responsibilities of adulthood.




At the beginning of the film, the trio attend their father’s funeral where they meet Suzu, the half-sister they never knew they had. It’s here that the story begins in earnest; Suzu returns home with them and is gradually drawn into the rhythms of their life. The film progresses at an unhurried pace (to put it mildly), following the sisters at home and at work, allowing a web of fears, rivalries and, above all, affections to slowly spin.


While the film is named for Suzu, it’s Sachi who comes closest to being its central character. Played to perfection by Haruka Ayase, she’s the de facto head of the family. There’s a toughness to her, and you can see why; following her parent’s marital breakdown, she was left to care for her sisters. But below this façade of stability is a fear of moving on, and a dependence on an established role within the family. All this, as much in the film, is revealed with masterful subtlety.


It’s to the cast and crew’s credit, though, that no character comes to dominate the film. Many of its most affecting moments, from the shared meals that punctuate the story to the firework display towards it close, are ensemble performances. There will be those who complain that the film is languid, and others who suggest that it strays too often into saccharine territory. But it’s so beautifully shot and carefully assembled that you can forgive it these shortcomings.


It's easy to get lost in the film's rich palette, but if you're looking for a yet more immersive experience, make sure to book for Curzon Bloomsbury's Edible Cinema event.



What Our Little Sister film review
Where Various Locations | MAP
Nearest tube Leicester Square (underground)
When 15 Apr 16 – 15 May 16, Event times vary
Price £detemined by cinema
Website Click here to visit the film's IMDB page



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
Helena Bonham Carter in Nolly, ITVX (Photo: ITV)
What to watch on TV this week
London exhibitions on now — Peter Doig, Courtauld Gallery
Top 15 exhibitions on now in London

A little more...


  • 1. 2015 ON SCREEN

    We look back at the best films of the year

    2. ROOM

    We interview the director of Frank and new genre-defying drama

    3. TARANTINO RETROSPECTIVE

    BFI celebrates the work of the film industry's most notorious gangster

    4. WHAT WE'LL BE WATCHING

    The most exciting films coming up this year

    5. JAPANESE CINEMA

    New season at the ICA celebrates Japanese filmmaking at its best

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
1

Cinema

Our Little Sister

You might like

  • Youth film still, Michael Caine, Harvey Keitl

    Follow up to The Great Beauty: Youth film review ★★★★★ "entertains, but lacks warmth"

  • Innocence of Memories, film still

    Innocence of Memories film review ★★★★★

  • Freeheld film still

    Freeheld film review ★★★★★

  • Ryan Gosling: Big Short film still

    The Big Short film review ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×