Father Mother Sister Brother is a comedy-drama anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, following a trilogy of stories about estranged families. In the first segment, “Father”, siblings Jeff (Adam Driver) and Emily (Mayim Bialik) are driving to visit their father (Tom Waits) in New Jersey for the first time in 2 years, though neither of them can remember the exact date they last saw their father. The siblings talk in a very clinical way with one another as they discuss the last times each gave their father money, and wonder if that’s what he’s after this time. Once they do arrive, it quickly becomes very awkward as the trio sip their water, and painfully try to keep a meaningful discourse going, as the children try to assess their father’s mental and financial status.

The second segment, “Mother”, is set in Dublin. Ssisters Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and Lilith (Vicky Krieps) and separately making their way to their mother’s (Charlotte Rampling) home for their annual get-together for tea and cakes. Once again, the conversation gets a bit awkward as one sister tries to hide her own failings, while the other has trouble finding her voice to boast about her own accomplishments.

The final segment, “Sister Brother” is set in Paris, where twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) meet up to finish clearing out the apartment that belonged to their parents, who had died in a plane crash a few months earlier. As they go through some of their parents’ stuff, they discover that there is a lot they didn’t know about their parents and even themselves.

I don’t really have much experience with director Jim Jarmusch. The only one of his films I have seen is The Dead Don’t Die, and I was not really a fan. I don’t think Jarmusch’s style of humor really resonates with me. There are some comedic moments in Father Mother Sister Brother, but it is played more straight, and the humor comes more from the complete awkwardness of the situations. While the stories are not really connected, there are several of the same elements that pop up during all three segments as a way to try to link them. These are things such as skateboarders appearing on the road as the characters are driving to their destination, characters having accidentally coordinated their outfits, or conversations about toasting, the quality of the water, drinking tea/coffee, and the presence of a Rolex watch. It was fun to see how these elements would pop up in the other stories. Separating the segments is this strange psychedelic-like transition sequence.

Only two of the stories really worked for me. The first, “Father”, was easily my favorite. I liked the cast, with Mayim Bialik and Adam Driver playing these really uptight and practically emotionless siblings going to check on their father who they really don’t have a relationship with. When we first see Tom Waits as the Father preparing for their visit, he seems to be bizarrely and purposely messing up his house before his children arrive, rather than cleaning it up. The chemistry between the actors is great as the incredibly awkward meeting plays out. The segment ultimately ends in a fun and memorable twist.

The second story was also entertaining, following another family that only see one another once a year, and not even on a holiday. Though this time it is the mother who really has her life in order and the two daughters who are a bit of a mess. Once again, it’s a great cast with Charlotte Rampling as the mother and Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps as the very different siblings, each lying about something in their lives. And again, there’s more awkward tea time conversions, and a slightly twisted ending.

I found the final story to be pretty much forgettable, and it didn’t really fit in as well with the other two, both thematically or visually. The first two primarily took place either in the car on the drive to a house, or in the home itself. This third finds the two siblings stopping at several different locations along the way. In addition, some of the common connections that popped up in the first two segments never popped up here. It just felt like something was missing in this final story. Maybe it was that there were just the two siblings and no parents (except in photos). And instead of experiencing the strained relationships firsthand, we are just told about the issues and lack of connection.

While there is this awkward humor, the stories can also be slightly depressing. How did these families end up this way, never seeing one another and growing apart like strangers, leading to forced and awkward discussions around the table?!

MUBI/Alliance Home Entertainment have released Father Mother Sister Brother on Blu-ray, but it is also available in 4K on Digital. We were sent a copy of the Blu-ray release for review. The video presentation looks great, with a clean and crisp picture, with a solid level of detail throughout. It’s just the psychedelic transition between the segments that gets a little pixelly at times, but that may be by design. This is a more dialogue-driven film, but the audio track does capture the ambiance of the setting, whether that be in the car on the may to these meetings, or the sound inside the homes or restaurants, etc.

The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a slightly thicker clear HD keepcase, which is covered in a sturdy carboard slipcover. Unfortunately like the other MUBI releases I’ve received for review, the disc is barebones, with no bonus material and no digital copy included.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:50:31)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 DTS-HD MA, English Audio Description
• Subtitles: English (Full), English SDH, French (Full), French SDH, Spanish (Full), Spanish SDH

Extras:

There is no bonus material included.

Final Thoughts:

Father Mother Sister Brother features a trilogy of stories about estranged families from writer/director Jim Jarmusch. The anthology features a mostly-recognizable cast, who deliver strong performances. The film blends drama and awkward humor, and finds creative ways to connect the stories despite them being completely separate from one another. Two of the the three segments worked for me, while I found the last to be almost instantly forgettable. While MUBI/Alliance Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, it is unfortunately barebones and doesn’t include any bonus material. I think the film is worth a look, at least for the first two segments.