Our Little Sister

Our Little Sister (Japanese: 海街diary, Hepburn: Umimachi Diary, lit. "Seaside town diary") is a 2015 Japanese drama film directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and based on Akimi Yoshida's manga series Umimachi Diary. It stars Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho and Suzu Hirose. The films follows three sisters in their 20s living in Kamakura, alongside their 14-year-old half sister.[2] It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]

Our Little Sister
Poster
Directed byHirokazu Kore-eda
Produced by
  • Kaoru Matsuzaki
  • Hijiri Taguchi
Screenplay byHirokazu Kore-eda
Based onUmimachi Diary
by Akimi Yoshida
StarringHaruka Ayase
Masami Nagasawa
Kaho
Suzu Hirose
Music byYoko Kanno
CinematographyMikiya Takimoto
Edited byHirokazu Kore-eda
Production
company
  • Toho
  • GAGA corporation
  • Fuji Television Network
  • Shogakukan
  • TV Man Union
Distributed by
  • Toho
  • GAGA corporation
Release date
  • May 14, 2015 (2015-05-14) (Cannes)
  • June 13, 2015 (2015-06-13) (Japan)
Running time
126 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥1.55 billion[1]

Plot

There are three sisters: 29-year-old Sachi Kouda (Haruka Ayase), 22-year-old Yoshino Kouda (Masami Nagasawa) and 19-year-old Chika Kouda (Kaho). They live in the house of their grandparents in Kamakura, where they grew up after their parents had separated and left them. One day, they receive news of the death of their father whom they have not seen in fifteen years. At the funeral, they meet their 14 year old half-sister Suzu Asano (Suzu Hirose). Suzu is living with her stepmother and stepbrother. Observing the behaviour of the stepmother at the funeral (she tries to pass on the responsibility of addressing the guests to Suzu), Sachi guesses that Suzu looked after their father as he died, not the stepmother. At the train station Sachi spontaneously invites Suzu to come and live with them. Later, Suzu moves in. She joins the local football team and becomes popular as the older sisters' lives develop.

Cast
Kore-eda and stars promoting the film at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Production

The film was produced by Fuji Television, Shogakukan, Toho and Gaga Corporation.[5] Principal photography began in July 2014.[6]

Release

The film premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film was released in Japan on June 13, 2015.[7] It premiered in London, England on October 14, 2015 as part of the BFI London Film Festival[8]

Box office

The film has grossed ¥1.55 billion in Japan.[1]

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes reports a 94% approval rating for Our Little Sister, based on 118 critics, with an average score of 7.8/10.[9] The film also holds a 75/100 average rating on Metacritic, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

Accolades

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.

References
  1. Kevin Ma (30 July 2015). "Hero victorious for second week in Japan". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  2. Ma, Kevin (28 May 2014). "Kore-eda Hirokazu adapts Kamakura Diary". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. "2015 Official Selection". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  4. "Screenings Guide". Festival de Cannes. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. Noh, Jean (23 March 2015). "Filmart 2015: Hot titles - Japan". Screen International. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  6. "Haruka Ayase Stars in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Umimachi Diary Film". Anime News Network. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. "Our Little Sister". gaga.co.jp. Gaga Corporation. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  8. "BFI London Film Festival 2015: 30 recommendations". www.bfi.org.uk. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  9. "Our Little Sister (Umimachi Diary) (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  10. "Our Little Sister Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
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