Four Iconic Films for Siblings to Bond Over
Make plans for some quality family time
Since mom and dad get their own day, it’s only fair that that brothers and sisters should receive some attention as well. So we’re celebrating National Siblings Day this year by highlighting the unique bonds siblings share in four Focus Features films.
From brothers bickering with each other to sisters fighting anyone who gets in their way, these movies capture with humor and humanity the bond many of us know first-hand.
The official trailer for Polite Society
Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya in Polite Society
Polite Society
Nida Manzoor’s Polite Society (in theaters April 28) is a tribute to the power of sisterhood. “It was drawn a lot from my own relationship with my sister,” Manzoor tells Celebrity Wire. “Such a close, intimate, and loving relationship, but then when you fight with your sibling, that kind of fighting can be the most brutal.” In the film, sisters Lena (Ritu Arya) and Ria (Priya Kansara) Khan are the best of friends until a man, the dashing Salim (Akshay Khanna), comes between them. As Lena prepares for a lavish wedding, Ria conspires with her friends to hijack the ceremony, which she believes is suspicious and sinister. “Bursting with playful energy, set to a killer soundtrack, and dripping with personality, Polite Society is a winning, ultra-charming tale of sisterly love,” writes Slash Film.
The official trailer for The Silent Twins
Tamara Lawrance and Letitia Wright in The Silent Twins
The Silent Twins
Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s The Silent Twins dramatizes the lives of actual twin sisters Jennifer (Tamara Lawrance) and June (Letitia Wright) Gibbons. Having grown up in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s, the twins mysteriously retreated into silence and a world of their own when they were little children. Smoczyńska felt a deep connection to June and Jennifer. “As someone who grew up amongst seven sisters, I understand the relationship amongst sisters very well,” Smoczyńska told Women and Hollywood. Plumbing the depth of the twins’ imaginations, Smoczyńska explored the twin’s creative bond as well as the facts of their story. “The Silent Twins offers much more than delightful escapism. It is an ode to Black female power, kinship, and the ambivalence within the Gibbons sisters’ own story,” writes Awards Watch.
The official trailer for Half Brothers
Connor Del Rio and Luis Gerardo Méndez in Half Brothers
Half Brothers
Much of the heart of Luke Greenfield’s comedy Half Brothers comes from writer-producer Eduardo Cisneros' experience growing up in Mexico. In the film, two half brothers who have never met—the Mexican-born Renato (Luis Gerardo Méndez) and the American-born Asher (Connor Del Rio)—are pushed together by their father’s will, which insists the two must take a journey together. For Cisneros, the theme of half brothers worked as a metaphor for Mexican-American relations and looking past differences to find connections. “Empathy would be at the heart of the story,” explains Cisneros in the production notes. “Full of an abundance of heart, Half Brothers encourages us to rediscover that which means the most to us in life before it’s too late while tackling political themes in a comedy made for all audiences,” writes Full Circle Cinema.
The official trailer for The Spark Brothers
Russell and Ron Mael in The Spark Brothers. photo: Anna Webber
The Sparks Brothers
Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers is a stunning tribute to the creative genius of two siblings. Born and raised in Southern California, Ron and Russell Mael reinvented themselves early on into a Euro-pop band whose innovative music and visionary style made them true originals. From there, they recreated their image and style over five decades. A longtime fan, Wright made the film to pay tribute to his favorite band and to understand how “they were sort of a product of their upbringing and the antithesis of it at the same time,” as he points out in the production notes. Utterly daring as performers, the pair remained resolutely private about their family and private lives, a contradiction that only adds to what the Austin Chronicle calls “a charming portrait of an astounding relationship: two brothers who have worked and created together, day in, day out, since they were infants.”