7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A story that revolves around three sisters who live in their grandmother's home and the arrival of their 13-year-old half sister.
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose, Ryô KaseForeign | 100% |
Drama | 56% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Let's face it: 2020 was challenging at best and downright tragic at worst, and, if your corner of the world is anything like my corner of the world, even these last couple of weeks in 2021 haven't been all that fantastic due to an onslaught of frigid snow and ice, the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. With that said, if for any reason you need something of a "palette cleanser" to watch, there's probably no better choice than the slow and deliberate but ultimately sweetly heartwarming Our Little Sister. It's perhaps salient to note that Arrow Academy's UK release of a trio of films by the writer and director of this outing was called Family Values: Three Films by Hirokazu Kore-eda, because family is at the heart (in more ways than one) of this engaging piece, as is perhaps made evident by the film's very title, including its plural possessive pronoun. A lot of films and television stories have been built around so-called "blended families", but Our Little Sister actually begins with an extended family that has "blended" about as well as oil and water tend to.
Our Little Sister is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Artificial Eye with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Adding to the inherent "old school" charm of this piece is the fact that it was shot on film, though that said, the grain field can be so fine as to almost mimic contemporary digital capture at times. There's an appealingly organic look to this presentation nevertheless, and detail levels are typically excellent throughout. The palette isn't dramatic in any real sense, but looks natural if just slightly bland at times. One passing criticism of this presentation might be inconsistent contrast, with some outdoor material looking overly bright and almost fuzzy at times, and interior scenes suffering from a lack of shadow detail. On the whole, though, this is a very appealing transfer without any major compression issues.
Our Little Sister features LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks in the original Japanese. A glut of outdoor material with attendant ambient environmental effects and a rather lush, nicely melodic, score by Yôko Kanno provide the best engagement of the side and rear channels. Both relatively bustling urban environments and some almost forested material, as well as seaside scenes and the courtyard of the girls' own home often offer good, if subtle, surround activity. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
I was commiserating with a friend recently about everything we all have been through over the past year (plus, at this point), and he kind of hilariously texted me, "Breathe, grasshopper." If that sounds like good advice to you, too, and you're looking for a couple of hours of cinematic accompaniment to aid in that process, Our Little Sister may be a welcome respite from the vagaries of contemporary life. For me personally, it was beyond refreshing to see a film which doesn't overamp family relationships (despite some evident dysfunctions), and which doesn't ever resort to cheap plot mechanics or hysterical theatrical sensibilities. Technical merits are generally solid, and even without much in the way of supplements, Our Little Sister comes Recommended.
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