Jim Jarmusch, one of the modern maestros of American cinema, has finally won one of the top prizes at a Big Three film festival, taking home the Golden Lion at Venice for his latest work Father Mother Sister Brother. Structured as a triptych, it is a subtle, poetic film about the spoken and unspoken truths that shape our closest familial bonds.


Father Mother Sister Brother unfolds across three intimate family encounters set in three cities. In Father, set in the United States, Jeff (Adam Driver) and Emily (Mayim Bialik) return to visit their ageing father (Tom Waits), where awkward daily routines slowly thaw years of quiet distance. It ends on a comical note, questioning how well we really know our parents. In Mother, set in Dublin, Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and Lilith (Vicky Krieps) visit their formidable novelist mother (Charlotte Rampling) for their annual afternoon tea, reassessing the fragile balance between independence and devotion, not just in their relationship with her but between each other. For the final part, Sister Brother, twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) drive across Paris, reunited in the wake of loss as they sort through their parents’ belongings and the histories they still share.

Read my full review: https://www.indiependent.co.uk/bfi-london-film-festival-2025-father-mother-sister-brother-review/