The newly-minted Golden Lion winner at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother is a throwback to his omnibus projects, like Mystery Train (1989), Night on Earth (1991) and Coffee and Cigarettes (2004). In short, he's now getting his flowers for rehashing narrative devices that critic Jonathan Rosenbaum already deemed repetitive and risk-averse some three decades ago.
A triptych by structure, Father Mother Sister Brother feels like three results from a film school exercise, to produce a short about the reunion of a family with two siblings which must incorporate random skateboarders on the street, a celebratory toast, a Rolex wristwatch, color-coordinated outfits and the British idiom "Bob's your uncle." Of course, these arbitrary prerequisites don't necessarily make for a connective thread or a cohesive theme.
Taking place in the snowy American Northeast, "Father" involves siblings Jeff (Adam Driver) and Emily (Mayim Bialik) hitting the road to visit their eccentric dad (Tom Waits), who's never had a steady job and has sporadically sought their help over their spouses' objections. We eventually learn that the patriarch leads a double life. What are his motivations for shielding his kids from the truth? Your guess is as good as mine.
In Dublin, "Mother" presents an entirely different dynamic under the same stipulations. Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and Lilith (Vicky Krieps) travel separately to visit their mum (Charlotte Rampling), an author who does not discuss her work with her offspring. Even though Timothea's car breaks down on the way, pink-haired influencer Lilith still feels the need to one-up her by putting on a charade of success.
Finally in Paris, "Sister Brother" depicts twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) visiting their dead parents' old flat after the latter has vacated it and put everything in storage. This chapter does conclude the proceedings on a poignant note, since there is at least some semblance of a bond between them, beyond familial obligations.
Rosenbaum has a point. The film does register as very slight; at best, a breezy summer sleeper. Instead of insights into the characters, we get snapshots. Even for an ensemble piece, the cast doesn't have much to work with. There's very little takeaway from each episode. The cultural differences between the three individual locales are hazy. Even when stacked together, the narratives don't really culminate in something meaningful.
Jarmusch's idiosyncrasies aside, the film isn't even particularly well made. Driving scenes in all three locations look like products of rear projection. Despite this being a Saint Laurent production, the wardrobe isn't that memorable. Rampling's presence only invites comparisons with Gaspar Noé's Summer of '21, which at minimum was more glamorous and fashion forward.
When jury president Alexander Payne announced Father Mother Sister Brother as the Golden Lion winner, the crowd watching the awards ceremony on a jumbotron in front of Sala Grande collectively voiced its displeasure. Indeed, in the days leading up, no pundit counted the film as a frontrunner. The fact that it won among many far worthier selections that reflected the somber mood at the festival was truly bewildering.