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Movie review: ‘Our Little Sister' triumphs as an endearing portrait of family life

One of the more common complaints you hear from adult moviegoers is that very few films are geared for them. Any trip to the local multiplex will prove their point. It's no mystery that most mainstream movies are aimed at teens as they constitute the largest moviegoing demographic.

The good news is that every now and then a film for adults does arrive in theaters, and every now and then that film is well worth watching, and that film right now is "Our Little Sister." Too bad it's not likely to be screened at the local multiplex as it's a foreign language film, Japanese, to be specific.

No sex, no violence, no explosions. How radical. The film, instead, tells the story of three sisters who welcome their half-sister into their home, and the consequences that ensue upon her arrival. Don't expect any tawdry revelations here. This is a low-key story that takes its time unfolding its family dynamic. You'll either find this approach engrossing or yawn-inducing, depending on your predilection for action.

The inciting incident, as they say in screenplay parlance, is the death of the sisters' father. The three older sisters, Sachi (Haruka Ayase), Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa) and Chika (Kaho), have been estranged from their father since he left their mother for another woman. The other woman, Yoko, (Yuko Nakamura), is the mother of Suzu (Suzu Hirose), a young teen whom the sisters meet for the first time and decide after the funeral to take under their wing when it becomes clear that Yoko is not a candidate for Mother of the Year. Suzu is more than happy to join them.

The four return to the house of their late grandmother in the coastal town of Kamakura where adjustments get made and relationships evolve. Think of the tale as a familial merry-go-round complete with ups and downs and where not everything that goes around is merry.

We meet Sachi, a nurse, who acts as the de facto matriarch as the three older sisters are also estranged from their mother Miyako (Shinobu Otake). Yoshino, meanwhile, a bank employee, is the party person whose revolving door of boyfriends irritates Sachi and creates static-producing friction between the two. Chika is the happy-go-lucky one who works at a sporting goods store with her boyfriend who likes mountain climbing. He's just not very good at it. They provide a welcome dose of levity to a story where a sense of melancholy pervades the air.

Suzu has her own issues to deal with as she adjusts to new her sisters, new surroundings and new life. She gets more of a coming-of-age storyline complete with an introduction to plum wine and boyfriends. One of the film's more exhilarating scenes has Suzu going on a bike ride through a tunnel of blossoming cherry trees with a boy who fancies her. Some symbolism perhaps.

To boost the conflict quotient, Miyako makes an appearance and the reunion with her daughters is far from warm and fuzzy.

All the actors acquit themselves brilliantly here, especially Ayase. Characters receive dimensions and arcs with Chika being the only sister who leads a less-examined life.

The film also provides insights into Japanese culture, which this critic found fascinating and enlightening.

Credit for leading us on this emotional journey goes to writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda, working from the manga "Unimachi Diary" by Yoshino Akimi. Kore-eda is no stranger to family foibles as he demonstrated in "Like Father, Like Son." He's not interested in being flashy. He's just interested in depicting the lives of ordinary people trying to cope with life's vagaries. Here, what happens to a childhood when its roots get dislodged? Don't expect a resolution to be as easy as a simple replanting.

"Our Little Sister"

Rated PG for thematic elements and brief language.

It is 126 minutes long, and written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

It stars Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho and Suzu Hirose.

Grade: A.