Our Little Sister
| Our Little Sister | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| Screenplay by | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| Based on | Umimachi Diary by Akimi Yoshida |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | Haruka Ayase Masami Nagasawa Kaho Suzu Hirose |
| Cinematography | Mikiya Takimoto |
| Edited by | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| Music by | Yoko Kanno |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 126 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | ¥1.55 billion[1] |
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 film follows three sisters living in Kamakura, alongside their half sister.[2] It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]
Plot
Three sisters, Sachi Kouda, Yoshino Kouda and Chika Kouda, live in the house of their grandparents in Kamakura. Their parents are divorced. 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 half-sister Suzu Asano. 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. Suzu joins the local football team and becomes popular as the relationship develops.
Cast
- Haruka Ayase as Sachi Kōda
- Masami Nagasawa as Yoshino Kōda
- Kaho as Chika Kōda
- Suzu Hirose as Suzu Asano
- Ryo Kase as Sakashita
- Kentaro Sakaguchi as Tomoaki Fujii
- Kirin Kiki as Fumiyo Kikuchi
- Lily Franky as Sen-ichi Fukuda
- Jun Fubuki as Sachiko Ninomiya
- Shinichi Tsutsumi as Kazuya Shiina
- Shinobu Otake as Miyako Sasaki
- Ryohei Suzuki as Yasuyuki Inoue
,_director_and_stars_of_Our_Little_Sister_at_the_Cannes_film_festival_-_Cannes_2015_11.jpg)
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
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2015 Official Selection". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ "Screenings Guide". Festival de Cannes. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ Noh, Jean (23 March 2015). "Filmart 2015: Hot titles - Japan". Screen International. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "Haruka Ayase Stars in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Umimachi Diary Film". Anime News Network. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "Our Little Sister". gaga.co.jp. Gaga Corporation. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
- ^ "BFI London Film Festival 2015: 30 recommendations". www.bfi.org.uk. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ "Our Little Sister (Umimachi Diary) (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ "Our Little Sister Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- 海街diary(2015) at allcinema (in Japanese)
- 海街diary at KINENOTE (in Japanese)
- Sony Pictures Classics official site
- Our Little Sister at IMDb
- Our Little Sister at AllMovie
- Our Little Sister at Box Office Mojo
- Our Little Sister at Metacritic
- Our Little Sister at Rotten Tomatoes
