Drama

Thicker than Water

犬猿

Directed by: Keisuke Yoshida
2018 / 103 minutes / Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

Sibling rivalry reaches all-out war in this darkly humorous family drama with a twist

Screened as part of the JFF 2018.

A pair of bickering brothers meet two squabbling sisters, and the tensions of their life-long rivalries both come to a head in a bittersweet comedy-drama.

Diligent printing company salesman Kazunari (Masataka Kubota) struggles to reel in his delinquent older brother Takuji (Hirofumi Arai) who’s not long returned from a prison stint for armed robbery. Despite Kazunari’s best efforts to help Takuji start afresh, it’s not long til he’s back to scheming a new get-rich-quick plan.

Yuria (manzai comedian Keiko Enoue) is the respectable sister with all the brains, but not much of the beauty. While efficiently running the family printing business and tending to her elderly grandfather, she masks her loneliness with self-depreciating gags about her weight. Her ‘aspiring actress’ younger sister Mako (Miwako Kakei) uses her beauty and ditziness to get whatever, or whoever, she wants – much to Yuria’s eternal frustration.

When clean-cut Kazunari steps inside the office, Yuria is quickly besotted by his charm and work ethic, but his attentions are drawn elsewhere. As the sister’s rivalry escalates into all out war, the insecurities and vulnerabilities of the four lead to moments of hilarious desperation alongside gut-wrenching truths.