Siblings do not always get along, with the fact being that the ones who eventually alienate each are almost as frequent as the ones who stay on good terms till the end. Hwang In-won explores the concept in her 25-minutes short, through an approach that, funnily, functions as a home invasion film.
Flavor of Sisterhood is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
Yeon-ju has just moved into a tiny apartment in a desperate effort to finally live alone, but her happiness does not last for long. Her older sister, Seon-ju, whom she has spent her twenties with, invades her life and the flat once more, essentially bullying her way into her life. The judgmental comments, the harsh critique, and the reminding of Yeon-ju's most embarrassing moments all happen soon enough, to the frustration of the younger sister. It turns out, however, that sisterly bullying can come from love and that the connection between siblings can be stronger than their differences.
Through an approach that is mostly comedic, with the excellent editing, particularly in the placement of the flashbacks in the narrative, being part of the humor, Hwang In-won presents a rather entertaining short, which also manages to retain a sense of realism throughout its duration. It is not just the way the two sisters interact with each other, it is also the way they share and highlight their past and their relationship with their parents eventually, that echoes quite real here.
Probably in an effort to move the story away from the apartment, and make it more cinematic, Hwang has included a scene in a karaoke parlor, which is the most visually impressive and breaks the monotony of a film that would have been stage-play like otherwise. At the same time, though, the duration of the particular scene is rather long for a 25 minutes short, and could definitely have been trimmed a bit.
Also of note here is the tempo, which is quite timely implemented, dictated by both the editing and the delivery of lines of the two actresses, Lee Jae-ri and Lee Rang, who play their roles both realistically and with a rather appealing childish demeanor, while exhibiting a chemistry that makes them appear as if they were actual sisters.
“Flavor of Sisterhood” is a fun film that manages to highlight the concept of sisterhood thoroughly and realistically, while retaining a sense of entertaining hilarity from beginning to end.
