Older Brother, Younger Sister (1953)

あにいもうと ‧ Movie ‧ 1953
Older Brother, Younger Sister (1953) poster
7.2
Your Rating: 0/10
Ratings: 7.2/10 from 13 users
# of Watchers: 28
Reviews: 1 user
Ranked #22082
Popularity #99999
Watchers 13

The eldest daughter of a rural family comes home pregnant, testing some already tenuous family bonds. Naruse shows his considerable skill at portraying household dynamics, filming Kyô in relaxed and/or reclining positions (indicative of her character's exhaustively maintained independence) that are then intruded upon by her ill-tempered older brother, whose initially comic, brute-force presence grows increasingly menacing and treacherous as the film progresses. (Source: IMDb) ~~ Adapted from the novel "Ani Imouto" by Muro Saisei. Edit Translation

  • English
  • magyar / magyar nyelv
  • dansk
  • Norsk
  • Country: Japan
  • Type: Movie
  • Release Date: Aug 19, 1953
  • Duration: 1 hr. 26 min.
  • Score: 7.2 (scored by 13 users)
  • Ranked: #22082
  • Popularity: #99999
  • Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

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Older Brother, Younger Sister Japanese Movie(1953) photo

Reviews

Completed
The Butterfly
1 people found this review helpful
Jun 4, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

"Life is what matters, right?"

Older Brother, Younger Sister was another Naruse Mikio family drama, yet where other of his families quietly turned the knife, this family exploded in unexpected violence. Throughout the waves of emotions, the youngest daughter San, tried to keep her life and family steady.

San returns home from school to find people giving her the side-eye in the small village her family lives in. Taichi, the boy she’s been romantically interested in, is forbidden to see her. Turns out, her older sister Mon has returned home pregnant and unmarried. Mon has worked in Tokyo to pay for San’s nursing school. San and their mother welcome Mon home, but the father ignores her and the older brother Ino, viciously berates her. Mon packs up and leaves which only creates further gossip and hurt feelings.

This is one of those films I wish I didn’t have to rely on subtitles. Mon didn’t appear to be a prostitute at the beginning of the film though the villagers seemed to imply that she was or at the very least sexually promiscuous. She’d been in love with a university student and the paternity of her child wasn’t questioned which seemed to negate their argument. Mon bemoaned her bad moral state after she lost her child with her brother implying she was working in the oldest profession. Or was she simply a “used” woman no longer with that shiny virgin smell men seemed to think was of great importance. Her churl of a brother was upset and gave her no quarter, letting her know exactly what he thought of her fallen status. Maybe too upset? When he explained how close they’d been even into her teens, it began to sound a bit incestuous. To cap things off, the violent fight between Ino and Mon took an uncomfortably erotic turn.

Regardless of Mon’s profession, she relished her independence and took care of her sister and family. The two sisters were very different yet San wished to follow in her big sister’s footsteps toward independence and was in no hurry to marry. Much like the daughter in Lightning, she wasn’t afraid to tell people what she needed, including her milquetoast love interest. The mother held her own and supported the family with the small shop she ran. The relationship between the two sisters was the backbone of this film given a solid assist from the mother.

The men were not shown in a favorable light. Ino spent what little money he made on “slutty” women, oh, the irony. He was also a thoughtless brute who justified his antagonistic behavior as just being a good brother. The father idled through his days drinking and reliving his past as a prosperous business owner. The noodle maker and the university student both lacked courage and the ability to stand up for what they believed in.

The actors’ ages were tough to ignore. In real life Yamamoto Reizaburo (Father) and Urabe Kumeko (Mother) were 51, Mori Masayuki (Ino) was 42 and looked every bit of it, Kyo Machiko (Mon) was 29-close to her character's age, and Kugo Yoshiko (San) was an age appropriate 22.

Naruse is one of my favorite directors from the earlier years of Japanese film. Unlike Mizoguchi who seemed to delight a little too much in torturing his heroines and Kurosawa who struggled with female characters, Naruse often showed women acting as independently and courageously as possible within a rather rigid patriarchal society. San and Mon brushed off what the townspeople and their own family said about them and mapped out the best lives they could for themselves. I should also mention that Tanaka Kinuyo was an assistant director, which delighted me to no end. Older Brother, Younger Sister was an odd film about a complex family with no easy answers, but it still left me hopeful that the sisters would keep their ties to each other without losing themselves in the process.

3 June 2025

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Details

  • Title: Older Brother, Younger Sister
  • Type: Movie
  • Format: Feature Film
  • Country: Japan
  • Release Date: Aug 19, 1953
  • Duration: 1 hr. 26 min.
  • Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

Statistics

  • Score: 7.2 (scored by 13 users)
  • Ranked: #22082
  • Popularity: #99999
  • Watchers: 28

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