Our Little Sister

Hirokazu Koreeda's adaptation of a popular graphic novel is perhaps his most restrained work to date. The focus of the story is three sisters who discover they have a 14-year-old stepsister, Suzu, when they attend the funeral of the father who deserted them as children. On a whim, the sibling trio invites the girl, whose mother is already dead, to come and live with them in their late grandmother's house in the seaside city of Kamakura. It's handsomely shot to emphasise the purest of sensual pleasures that Suzu discovers with her newfound sisters: the tunnels of cherry blossom, the orchards full of greengages, the local mackerel dish, a firework display. Koreeda eschews manufactured drama, and assembles instead a life-affirming collage of small, sweet, exquisitely observed moments. The four sisters gradually realise that, although adults have failed them, the bond that they share is unassailable. The film's gentle, empathetic tone might seem a little toothless compared to the peril or conflict of Koreeda's earlier work, but it's a warm, embracing joy of a movie to watch.