Our Little Sister

Original title: Umimachi Diary

2015
PG
2h 7m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

17K

YOUR RATING

Masami Nagasawa, Haruka Ayase, Kaho, and Suzu Hirose in Our Little Sister (2015)

A story that revolves around three sisters who live in their grandmother's home and the arrival of their thirteen-year-old half sister.

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Drama Family

Three sisters live together in Kamakura. When their father - absent for 15 years - dies, they travel to the countryside for his funeral and meet their half-sister. Bonding quickly with the o... Read allThree sisters live together in Kamakura. When their father - absent for 15 years - dies, they travel to the countryside for his funeral and meet their half-sister. Bonding quickly with the orphaned Suzu, they invite her to live with them.Three sisters live together in Kamakura. When their father - absent for 15 years - dies, they travel to the countryside for his funeral and meet their half-sister. Bonding quickly with the orphaned Suzu, they invite her to live with them.

Director
- Hirokazu Koreeda
Writers
- Akimi Yoshida
- Hirokazu Koreeda
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

17K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Hirokazu Koreeda
Writers
- Akimi Yoshida
- Hirokazu Koreeda
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 16 wins & 24 nominations

Trivia
Before they shot the movie, four actresses spent a day at the house together to get familiarized with the layout of the house and get comfortable with each other. They cleaned the house, weeded the garden, cooked meals and ate together. They also fixed the shoji screen, which Koreeda liked it so much that he incorporated the scene in the movie.

Goofs
When the four sisters are having their lunch with Chika's boyfriend at their house, in the interior shot looking outward, all the noodles on the main plate have been eaten.

In the next scene, an exterior scene looking inward to the house, Sachi reaches down and takes the plate away but Chika reaches up and takes several noodles off the plate with her chopsticks.

Quotes
Sachi Kôda: I want you to stay forever.
Suzu Asano: I want to stay forever.

Connections
Referenced in Il était une fois...: Une affaire de famille (2021)

User reviews73

Review

Featured review

10/10

The Pursuit of Happiness

All the Hollywood directors producing one comic-book sequel after the other (and all other directors as well) should see this film, they should turn away in shame, and quit directing. Movie is largely seen as a medium to entertain, yet it could be so much more.

Watching this movie, in every scene, it is incomprehensible for a western viewer how it is filmed: There are only daily life scenes, nothing dramatic, yet it is such a heart-warming experience, a simple joy of watching people living their lives.

The story follows 3 very different grown-up sisters who live independently in a big house. The father has left them when they were little, and now they learn that they yet have another little sister. Soon their little dormitory has an additional guest. The main characters are the youngest sister who tries to adapt to her new life, and the oldest sister who is determined to live her life lead by strength and kindness.

Critics have compared Kore-eda with Ozu, because of his calm observation of life. Still, Ozu's films contain great sadness, while Kore-eda's movies ('Like Father,Like Son', 'Kiseki') are full of hope and joy for living. They show simple people trying to find happiness in life. It has a Zen-like quality: one doesn't need big dramatic events to show love and kindness, if you are looking close enough you will find it in the most ordinary things in daily life.

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen.