‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ Review: Jarmusch’s Family Tale

‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ Review: Jim Jarmusch’s Poetic Meditation on Family and Time

As a fan of Paterson, Only Lovers Left Alive, and even select parts of The Dead Don’t Die, I went into Jim Jarmusch’s latest film, Father Mother Sister Brother, expecting one of his most accomplished works yet. After all, it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and served as the NYFF63 centerpiece — proof that this was meant to be peak Jarmusch. It triumphed over acclaimed titles like No Other Choice, The Voice of Hind Rajab, and The Testament of Ann Lee, though the decision did raise suspicions of favoritism, especially given Jarmusch’s rumored friendship with the jury president. It felt similar to when Isabelle Huppert awarded Pedro Almodóvar last year — a reminder that festival politics can sometimes overshadow genuine artistry.

That said, Father Mother Sister Brother is a gentle, dryly humorous, and deeply intimate family triptych — a film composed of three connected stories about loss, memory, and the bittersweet experience of returning home. Jarmusch’s touch remains subtle and poetic, his pacing calm and reflective. The result is charming and emotionally resonant, even if it doesn’t quite reach the haunting beauty of his best work.

MPA Rating: R (for strong language)

Duration: 1 hour and 50 minutes

Language: English

Production Companies: Saint Laurent Productions, Badjetlag, CG Cinéma, The Apartment Pictures, Fremantle, Les Films du Losange, Weltkino, Cinema Inutile, Fis Éirann / Screen Ireland, and Hail Mary Pictures

Distributor: MUBI

Directed by: Jim Jarmusch

Written by: Jim Jarmusch

Starring: Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Sarah Greene, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat

U.S. Theatrical Release: December 24, 2025

Father Mother Sister Brother Review: A Lyrical Triptych of Family, Memory, and Grief

Three Interconnected Stories Framed by Jarmusch’s Distinct Visual Style

Father Mother Sister Brother unfolds across three intimately connected chapters, each one transitioning through soft, kaleidoscopic green filters that visually weave the anthology into a single emotional journey.

Chapter One – “Father”

The opening story, “Father,” centers on two anxious siblings — Jeff (Adam Driver) and Emily (Mayim Bialik) — who travel to their reclusive father’s (Tom Waits) woodland cabin following the recent death of their mother. Their uneasy reunion explores the silence, distance, and quiet tenderness that emerge in the wake of loss.

Chapter Two – “Mother”

In “Mother,” the focus shifts to Dublin, where two sisters — the composed Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and the free-spirited Lilith (Vicky Krieps) — gather for their annual tea with their celebrated novelist mother (Charlotte Rampling). What begins as polite conversation gradually reveals emotional fractures beneath the surface of familial tradition.

Chapter Three – “Sister, Brother”

Finally, “Sister, Brother” follows adult twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) as they return to their late parents’ Paris apartment to collect personal belongings. As they uncover remnants of their parents’ Bonnie-and-Clyde-like criminal history, the chapter evolves into a haunting reflection on inheritance, identity, and the legacies we cannot escape.

A Unified Meditation on Family and Time

Bound by Jarmusch’s meditative tone and visual cohesion, Father Mother Sister Brother transforms its triptych structure into a graceful study of family, memory, and the ways we revisit our past to understand ourselves.

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Jarmusch’s minimalist approach creates a sense of quiet claustrophobia balanced by dry wit

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Static Frames and Subtle Character Work

Jim Jarmusch embraces his signature minimalist style once again, using still compositions and deliberate pacing to craft an atmosphere of tension and quiet observation. Each chapter stands apart through its distinct rhythm and tone, yet all share his fascination with peculiar human behavior. The director fills his dialogue with subtle quirks, letting the adults — and sometimes their inner children — speak through silence and gesture rather than exposition. Within these confined spaces, the hesitant conversations among siblings capture the strange mix of unease and affection that often accompanies visits to estranged parents. Ordinary exchanges become both comedic and suffocating, transforming everyday family life into a study of claustrophobic intimacy.

Masked Emotions and Unspoken Truths

In the film’s first two chapters, Jarmusch gently explores how people conceal their real selves behind calm façades. Through lingering pauses, knowing glances, and understated performances, his actors communicate emotional restraint — the instinct to hide pain for the sake of peace. These carefully modulated interactions reveal how love and discomfort often coexist within families. True to Jarmusch’s tone, the humor is dry and spontaneous, rooted in the awkwardness of human connection rather than punchlines.

A Standout Second Act

The film reaches its creative peak in the second segment, the most engaging and emotionally layered of the three. Here, the dynamic performances of Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps shine — Blanchett delivers controlled elegance while Krieps brings a buoyant unpredictability to the screen. It’s particularly delightful to see Krieps, pink-haired and free-spirited, playing against type after Phantom Thread, and Blanchett embodying restraint rather than authority. Their reunion with Charlotte Rampling’s matriarch evokes that familiar regression into childlike behavior when returning home, as old hierarchies and emotions quietly resurface over tea.

A Symphony of Stillness and Wit

With Father Mother Sister Brother, Jarmusch transforms simplicity into depth. His static direction and sharp eye for emotional detail turn small moments into profound reflections on identity, memory, and family tension — all delivered with his trademark dry humor and haunting stillness.

Father Mother Sister Brother Review: A Fragile Web of Connection and Loss

Recurring Motifs and Emotional Distance

The triptych finds cohesion through subtle recurring details — small echoes that bind the stories together. From the repeated mentions of Rolex watches (a sly nod to product placement) to the recurring ritual of toasting with tea, Jarmusch stitches a fragile thread between the chapters. Each vignette captures the strange, uneasy ritual of visiting a parent after loss — a moment when grief reshapes relationships and turns presence into a form of absence. The surviving parent becomes distant, almost ghostlike, as if retreating from the emotional space once shared with their partner. While all three stories are engaging and quietly humorous, they touch only lightly on the deeper emotional conversation they seem to be reaching for.

A Shift in Tone: “Sister, Brother”

The third and final segment, “Sister, Brother,” marks a notable shift in tone and style. Moving away from the wry, understated humor of the first two stories, Jarmusch embraces a more somber, introspective drama. Here, twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) return to their late parents’ Paris apartment, uncovering fragments of their parents’ secret, crime-tinged past following a fatal plane crash. The atmosphere grows heavier, trading Jarmusch’s characteristic irony for emotional directness.

Minimalism Meets Melodrama

Though the final chapter feels smaller in scale, it remains gripping thanks to the tender chemistry between Moore and Sabbat. Their performances bring warmth and vulnerability to a section that might otherwise feel detached. Jarmusch’s minimalist style persists — long takes, sparse dialogue, and quiet compositions — but the sudden dramatic tone gives the piece the air of a film-school debut at Sundance: ambitious, personal, and a bit uneven.

Closing Impression

Even as it wobbles tonally, Father Mother Sister Brother holds together through its shared mood of longing and reflection, unified by Jarmusch’s fascination with how grief alters the rhythm of family connection.

CONCLUSION

Though Father Mother Sister Brother carries genuine warmth through much of its runtime, Jarmusch’s triptych never quite captures the full depth of the family relationships it portrays, leaving much of its emotional potential unexplored.