Three sisters live together in their late grandmother's house in the city of Kamakura. They have lived together since their dad left home for another woman and their mum imitated her husband by running off with another man. Sachi, 29, the oldest Koda sister, a nurse at the local hospital, acts as a substitute mother to Yoshino, 22, and Chika, 19. One day, the threesome learns of the death of their "traitor" father and it is only halfheartedly that they go to his funeral. But in Yamagata something unexpected happens: they meet their half-sister Suzu, 13, there and immediately fall for the spell of this exquisite young creature. Sensing that Yoko, her father's widow, will not be a fit guardian, Sachi invites Suzu to move in with them.

Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for Our Little Sister (2015) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose, Ryo Kase, Ryohei Suzuki DIRECTOR: Hirokazu Kore-eda CINEMATOGRAPHY: Mikiya Takimoto MUSIC: Yoko Kanno PRODUCTION: Shogakukan, TOHO, Fuji Television Network, BUN-BUKU, GAGA Corporation

Box Office Performance

Our Little Sister earned $467,555 domestically and $-121,070 internationally, for a worldwide total of $346,485. The film skewed heavily domestic (135%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

The film was produced by Fuji Television, Shogakukan, Toho and Gaga Corporation. Principal photography began in July 2014.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 16 wins & 24 nominations total

Additional Recognition: Our Little Sister received the most nominations (12) at the 39th Japan Academy Prize, winning four of them including Picture of the Year and Director of the Year. The four actresses who portrayed the sisters were all awarded or nominated for the acting awards (Haruka Ayase was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Masami Nagasawa and Kaho were nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Leading Role and Suzu Hirose won Newcomer of the Year).

The film also won Audience Award at San Sebastián International Film Festival.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Rotten Tomatoes reports a approval rating for Our Little Sister, based on critics, with an average score of . The website's critical consensus reads: "Our Little Sister uses the story of one fractured family to offer universal -- and deeply moving -- observations on the human condition." The film also holds a 75/100 average rating on Metacritic, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave it a full four stars and said that "this is the kind of movie that will leave you feeling restored, maybe a little misty-eyed as well". Calvin Wilson of St. Louis Post-Dispatch referred to it as "a beautiful drama with comedic undertones about the tension between the comforts of family life and the vast possibilities beyond it. [...] an insightful film that bears comparison to the work of British directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach."

A. O. Scott of The New York Times praised the film's plot: "Seeming to wander through small incidents and mundane busyness, it acquires momentum and dramatic weight through a brilliant kind of narrative stealth." He said the film "goes down as easily as a sip of the plum wine the sisters brew and yet leaves the viewer both sated and intoxicated." Kenji Fujishima of The Village Voice found the film less powerful than Kore-eda's Still Walking (2008) and Like Father, Like Son (2013), writing that the film has "an emotional reticence that at times verges on too subtle for its own good.