REEL JAPAN

Score: 7/10

Japan’s top film auteur, Koreeda Hirokazu, turns to television for this Netflix-produced family drama. Based on an earlier series ASHURA NO GOTOKU from 1979, which is based on the novel by Mukoda Kuniko, ASURA tells the story of four sisters whose ages range across a generational divide coming to terms with life and love and family drama in 1970s Tokyo. Koreeda assembles an army of talent and entrenches them in material which ranges from feel-good drama to maudlin soap opera. 

Of all his works, ASURA most closely resembles OUR LITTLE SISTER, based on a manga about four sisters of varied ages moving in together. Hirose Suzu who featured as the youngest sister in that film and has appeared in several Koreeda projects, again plays the youngest sister, Sakiko, in ASURA. 

The always capable Miyazawa Rie (TAIHEIKI, GUILTY FLAG, HUMAN SPECIMENS) and Aoi Yu (PENANCE) join her as sisters Tsunako and Sakiko, but it is Ono Machiko as the second sister Makiko who is the MVP of this production. Ono (CARNATION, BULLET TRAIN EXPLOSION) plays a wife and mother who struggles to hold her family together. Ono’s acting always has an earthy poignancy. Motoki Masahiro (DEPARTURES) plays Makiko’s husband, tendering a humane and accessible performance. When I think of Motoki’s body of work, the performances that come to mind are young Emperor Hirohito in THE EMPEROR IN AUGUST and a naval officer in SAKA NO UWE, but here he plays a very normal salaryman. Matsuzaka Keiko, one of the greatest Japanese female character actors of all time plays Fuji, the aging matriarch of their family. Her work in historical dramas such as MORI MOTONARI (1997) and ATSUHIME (2008) is unparalleled. The talented Kunimura Jun (THE WAILING, KILL BILL) plays her husband. The strong chemistry of the four sisters is key to the success of ASURA, and is without a doubt superior to the four March sisters in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 remake of LITTLE WOMEN.

Curiously, there is a point halfway through the series when the story itself seems like it could be put to bed. The more the filmmakers indulge youngest sister Sakiko’s subplot, the more aggravating the series becomes. Oldest sister Tsunako, always aloof, features in a love affair so removed from the mainline story, it might as well have been a different show. Miyazawa is matched with the brilliant Uchino Seiyo (FUURIN KAZAN, CHUSHINGURA) and their chemistry is wonderful to behold. Though stylish and engaging, ultimately ASURA cannot overcome the limitations of its material. It remains a showcase for star power and for the brilliant cinematography (Takimoto Mikiya) and set design that resurrect a bygone era.

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