This is a small film about small things. No sweeping statements, no deep emotions, no spectacular events. It's about the lives of three sisters in their twenties, who live in a large, old wooden house, and their fifteen year old half-sister Suzu whom they invite to live with them. Nothing more, nothing less.
But behind the seemingly simple story is a series of unpleasant events from the past. The father of the three sisters has left his family to start a new life with another woman - the mother of Suzu. The heartbroken wife who was left behind couldn't cope with raising the three girls alone, and left them as well.
All this is revealed little by little and bit by bit. 'You realize this is the daughter of the woman who has ruined the family?', asks the great-aunt of the three sisters when she hears that they have invited Suzu to come and live with them, after the death of their father. But the arrival of Suzu subsequently seems to erase all unpleasant memories from the past.
The film is a tribute to traditional Japanese values like respect, harmony and forgiveness. Although they are quite different, the sisters respect each other and lovingly include Suzu into their lives. It is also a film that breathes tradition: the sisters live in an old, traditional Japanese house, they eat traditional dishes like home- made noodles, and regularly they go to a small traditional restaurant. At one point, they all wear traditional yukata's. And of course, there is a scene featuring the cherry blossom - the essence of all things Japanese.
It's all filmed in an extremely tasteful and elegant way by director Hirokazu Kore-Eda. Comparisons with Yasujiro Ozu (the maker of Tokyo Story) are quite appropriate. But the uneventfulness of it all got a bit on my nerves. The older sister has trouble with her married boyfriend, the middle one gets promoted at her job, and little Suzu makes a goal at a soccer game - that's about as exciting as it gets.
But behind the seemingly simple story is a series of unpleasant events from the past. The father of the three sisters has left his family to start a new life with another woman - the mother of Suzu. The heartbroken wife who was left behind couldn't cope with raising the three girls alone, and left them as well.
All this is revealed little by little and bit by bit. 'You realize this is the daughter of the woman who has ruined the family?', asks the great-aunt of the three sisters when she hears that they have invited Suzu to come and live with them, after the death of their father. But the arrival of Suzu subsequently seems to erase all unpleasant memories from the past.
The film is a tribute to traditional Japanese values like respect, harmony and forgiveness. Although they are quite different, the sisters respect each other and lovingly include Suzu into their lives. It is also a film that breathes tradition: the sisters live in an old, traditional Japanese house, they eat traditional dishes like home- made noodles, and regularly they go to a small traditional restaurant. At one point, they all wear traditional yukata's. And of course, there is a scene featuring the cherry blossom - the essence of all things Japanese.
It's all filmed in an extremely tasteful and elegant way by director Hirokazu Kore-Eda. Comparisons with Yasujiro Ozu (the maker of Tokyo Story) are quite appropriate. But the uneventfulness of it all got a bit on my nerves. The older sister has trouble with her married boyfriend, the middle one gets promoted at her job, and little Suzu makes a goal at a soccer game - that's about as exciting as it gets.