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Modern problems and old tensions collide in "Our Little Sister," a gently humorous and quietly devastating story from Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda, who understands and explores complex family dynamics like few other filmmakers.

The Kôda sisters live together in their late grandmother's large, slightly dilapidated house in Kamakura, a coastal city about 30 miles south of Tokyo. Sachi (Haruka Ayase), a nurse in the city's hospital, is the oldest and the mother hen of the three. Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa) works in a bank and has gone through a succession of boyfriends. Chika (Kaho), the youngest, is a bit of a bohemian, working in a shoe store and kinda-dating a co-worker.

When their father, who left the family 15 years ago, dies, the three sisters grudgingly attend the funeral. There they meet Suzu (Suzu Hirose), their 15-year-old half-sister — the daughter of their father's now-deceased second wife. Suzu doesn't relish living alone with their father's third wife, so she's quick to accept Sachi's impulsive offer to have her move in with the Kôdas.

Suzu soon settles into her new life in Kamakura. She enrolls in school, makes quick friends, gains a sorta-boyfriend and impresses with her skills on the soccer pitch. She also learns the seasonal rituals of the Kôda family: picking plums from the backyard tree and making plum wine, watching the cherry blossoms in the spring and fireworks in the summer.

The four sisters get along quite well, as Suzu experiences Sachi's seriousness, Yoshino's romance-driven mood swings and Chika's genial goofiness. There are, though, simmering tensions, mostly stemming from one unspoken truth: Suzu's existence is the result of the affair that broke up the Kôda sisters' parents.

Kore-Eda — whose past works include the heartbreaking kids-alone drama "Nobody Knows" (2004) and the moving multigenerational "Still Walking" (2008) — doesn't push any agendas as he tells this multilayered story, adapted from Akimi Yoshida's best-selling manga "Umimachi Diary." Each moment is part of the mosaic, in a town where Sachi's job promotion or the faltering health of a diner owner (Jun Fubuki) has ripple effects for everyone around them.

Kore-Eda (who is credited as director, screenwriter and editor) assembles a talented ensemble cast, and the four actors who play the sisters are especially moving, individually and as a group. Their shared dynamic, of playful arguments and tearful hugs, makes "Our Little Sister" the most touching of family reunions.

Twitter: @moviecricket —

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'Our Little Sister'

Three grown-up sisters invite their teenage half-sister to live with them in this tender comedy-drama from Japan.

Where • Broadway Centre Cinemas.

When • Opens Friday.

Rating • PG for thematic elements and brief language.

Running time • 128 minutes; in Japanese, with subtitles.