If you want to read my review of Our Little Sister, read this post. In 海街diary, Chika, Yoshino and Sachi are three sisters who were abandoned by their father, a long time ago. But, decide to attend his funeral and there they discover that they have a younger sister, Suzu, who has no one to stay with.
Chika Koda (Kaho Indo), Yoshino Koda (Masami Nagasawa) live together in Kamakura with their older sister, Sachi Koda (Haruka Ayase), who, naturally, is the matriarch of the trio. 15 years after the last contact with their father, they received the news of his death, in Yamagata.
“Apparently, he left behind a daughter.”
Suzu Asano (Suzu Hirose) was already motherless, Asano-san’s second wife, and a very mature teenager, who took care of her father until the end.
“You’re the one who nursed father, right? I’m sure he’s grateful to you.”
When Asano-san died, he was on his third marriage, to Suzu’s stepmother. So now she was orphaned from mother and father and didn’t want to live with her stepmother. If not for Sachi’s invitation, Suzu would have nowhere to go. She wouldn’t have a family to call her own.
Our Little Sister: japanese movie review
Suzu was very well received by the older sisters. But older, more conservative relatives were not as receptive.
“But she’s the daughter of the woman who destroyed your family.”
Sachi, being the eldest, has always been responsible for Yoshino and Chika. So, this defunct protector expanded to accommodate the new baby sister.
“That doesn’t matter. She wasn’t born then.”
Even Yoshino’s boyfriend, Fuji (Kentaro Sakaguchi), even though he was a young person, took Suzu’s foster care badly.
On the other hand, other people, of different ages, thought that Chika, Yoshino and Sachi did very well in welcoming Suzu.
“She’s so bright and lively. She laughs a lot.”
On Suzu’s part, she got to know each one of the sisters, adapting to living together and always received affection in return.
“You can always talk to me about any problems, ok?”
On the older sisters’ side, Suzu was a connection to their father, especially to Chika. As the second youngest, she had very little contact with her father.
“Tell me something about dad.”
At one point, 14 years after I left, Chika, Yoshino and Sachi’s mother was coming from Sapporo to visit and the situation made them all uncomfortable. They had a lot stuck in their throats and didn’t know what she was going to think of Suzu.
Reviewing Our Little Sister: sea town diary
I relate a lot with this Japanese film and with Suzu because I am also the youngest son from my mother’s last marriage and I have an older sister from her previous marriage.
Unfortunately, I’ve fought with my sister a few times and I’m sure that, at times, her point of view saw my existence as a sign of my mother’s abandonment of her.
But the truth is, my mother only fell in love with another man and I was the result of that relationship. So, like the previous marriage, she was and neither of us had power over those choices.
Why you should watch Our Little Sister
I won’t leave Our Little Sister ending explained or a download link here, but If you have siblings from your parent’s other relationship, this Japanese movie is a great indication. You need to watch it!
We need to understand that we, as children, are not to blame for anything and we don’t choose which family we will be born into. All we can do is try to deal as best as we can with the circumstances of our parents’ choices.
Our Little Sister trailer
I really feel that you will like this one. So I decided to do this Umimachi Diary review. Go ahead, immerse yourself in the story, the environment and the soundtrack.
And come back later to tell me what you think in the comments. This was the first Japanese movie I watched with Masami Nagasawa and Suzu Hirose, many years ago.
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