MOVIE OF THE WEEK December 1, 2023: SISTERS (MASAS)
Raw and documentary-like in its realism, Linda Olte’s coming-of-age drama Sisters (Masas) is the moving story of a Latvian teenager who seems older than her years but in many ways is still a vulnerable child. It hinges on the powerful performance of Emma Skirmante, who makes her feature debut as 13-year-old Anastasija, a tough-acting group-home veteran who finds herself conflicted over the chance of a fresh start in America.
Anastasija — along with her older and younger sisters, Julija (Katrina Kreslina) and Diana (Gerda Aljena) — has been in the care of the system ever since she was born in prison to her troubled mother, Alla (Iveta Pole). Charming but immature and totally unreliable, Alla has been, to put it mildly, an inconsistent presence in her daughters’ lives. But Anastasija is understandably still drawn to her — and to the idea of a life with her. So when the well-intentioned Johnson family announces their plan to adopt Anastasija and Diana and bring them back to the United States (Julija has already aged out of the group home and has her own daughter to care for), Anastasija is thrown into turmoil.
Anastasija seeks Alla out, and they re-establish a connection — but every time Anastasija dares to hope that Alla might have changed, her mother proves her wrong. It’s a hard lesson to learn, no matter your age, and Anastasija responds to the uncertainty by acting out and retreating into herself. Unlike Diana, she can’t muster up any enthusiasm for the Johnsons or for starting over so far away from everyone and everything she’s ever known. She knows they mean well and want to help her, but they don’t seem to want her as she is, and she’s not willing to change who she is to meet their expectations.
In telling this very personal story, Olte shares a valuable message about the nature of acceptance, family, and unconditional love. It’s not enough to want to help someone if you aren’t willing or able to truly see them — and to meet them at least part way. And no matter how flawed someone might be, if you love them, it’s agonizing to let them go. Skirmante and Olte work together to convey all of this on screen in Sisters, and the result is satisfying, both emotionally and cinematically.– Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Loren King What an affecting debut feature about three generations of young women and children caught in Latvia’s foster system, a kind of holding cell between homelessness and possible foreign adoption with all its complications. Director Linda Olte keeps the naturalistic story focused on her compelling characters, starting with rebellious 13 year-old Anastasija (a terrific Emma Skirmante) who lives in a group home with her younger sister Diana (Gerda Aljēna) while their older sister, who’s aged out of the system, struggles to get by with her new baby. From the benign neglect of the crowded orphanage, to the bleak city streets, to the lack of options for discarded girls save for shoplifting and drug running, the film is reminiscent of the best work of the Dardenne brothers in weaving social issues with unforgettable characters, shot in raw, verite style. Anastasija’s longing for connection with her flighty, absent biological mother Alla (Iveta Pole) who drifts in and out of life with unkept promises is heartbreaking. Sisters is a familiar story of family dysfunction and overburdened, hole-riddled social safety net. But it’s depicted with such specificity of place and character that it feels fresh and jolting.
Pam Grady: The rancid side of hope emerges in Linda Olte’s sharp, character-driven first feature. Thirteen-year-old Anastasija (Emma Skirmante) and her little sister Diana (Gerda Aljena) are in the care of the Latvian state, living in what amounts to an orphanage while their older sister Julija (Katrina Kreslina) struggles as a single mom. While Diana retains the innocence of a kid, Anastasija is in many ways a cynical teen, acting out in ways to match her feeling of being older than her years. That hard shell would serve her well in dealing with her neglectful mother Alla (Iveta Pole) but Anastasija remains hopeful that her wayward parent will somehow regain custody of her daughters, despite all evidence to the contrary. When an evangelical American family makes plans to adopt her and Diana and take the sisters to the US, the well-meant gesture only pushes Anastasija to act out. Skirmante makes a dazzling screen debut as a child who seems hellbent on ruining her own future in her zeal to reunite with a woman who long ago threw her and her sisters away. Both mother and daughter have a soft spot for stray dogs, it never occurring to Anastasija that she is a kind of stray herself. The American Christians are written as stereotypes, which is too bad. Those characters are a weakness in an otherwise astute drama.
Leslie Combemale For her feature debut, writer/director Linda Olte initially had in mind creating a documentary on a child’s adoption experience in her home country, but she discovered she would not be be able to show the face of any child she filmed, so switched to narrative. Sisters (or Māsas) is often bordering on heartbreaking, due in no small part to the performance of the lead, newcomer Emma Skirmante. The film highlights the lack of agency pre-teens have, especially female pre-teens, while at the same time showing the even more at-risk experiences of kids in countries like Latvia. It asks, “how often are the children’s desires considered in adoptions, and should those desires be considered when so many of these children have already been through so much trauma?” In fact, the Latvian Parliament recently prohibited intercountry adoptions to the US, in part because of rampant human trafficking rings and the trauma on the adopted. Olte’s script and cast bring home that bad parenting is dangerous the world over, leaving kids with emotional scars that might never heal.
Jennifer Merin Sisters (aka Māsas) a compelling femme-centric coming of age narrative from Latvian writer/director Linda Olte. The story centers on 13-yearold Anastasija and her younger sister, Diana, whose mother has left them in an orphanage and what happens when an American couple wants to adopt them and move them to the United States. Anastasija does not want to leave Latvia and all that she knows, especially her charming but ne’er-do-well biological mother and another older sister who has just had a baby. Diana. on the other hand, is delighted at the prospect of having a full time dedicated mom and dad. It is a complicated situation that is convincingly played out without distracting melodrama. Young Emma Skirmante’s performance as the rebellious Anastasija is stunning and the beautifully crafted film gives us an intimate look at women’s lives in another culture.
Sandie Angulo Chen: The Latvian drama Sisters is a thoughtful and heartbreaking drama about the controversies surrounding international adoption. Director Linda Olte explores the conflicted way kids in state care — like 13-year-old Anastasija (an outstanding performance from Emma Skirmante) — feel when they’re faced with the option of an overseas adoption far away from everything and everyone they know and remaining in the system hoping to be reunited with biological parents. The choice is particularly fraught, because Anastasija’s sister Diana desperately wants to go to America and have full-time parents, while Anastasija wants to stay and be close to their older sister, a teen-mother, and their painfully unreliable mother. A deftly executed and insightful film.
Nikki Fowler:Linda Olte’s Sisters (Masas) is a raw look at the lives of three Latvian sisters and their estranged mother who finds herself in a whirlwind of chaos and generational upheaval and how the middle child Anastasija attempts to find her way, torn between trying to bring the women of her family together and joining an American family looking to adopt her and her younger sister. Emma Skirmante is simply captivating and gives a stellar, mature and sophisticated performance as Anastasija as her character navigates the orphanage system and is repeatedly disappointed by a mother with whom she shares endearing moments, but who doesn’t have the traditional skills, after enduring her own abuse, to properly care for her children. The cinematography is breathtaking along with the score which stays with you long after the credits have rolled.
Liz Whittemore Wading through the social systems of Latvia and the complexities of international adoption, at its core, Sisters delves into the meaning of family, a sense of belonging, and issues of abandonment. The film is heartbreaking and authentic, placing the viewer by Anastasija’s side for the entire runtime. Linda Olte’s exploration of generational trauma soars in the lead performance from Emma Skirmante. You see the gears turning, filling the screen with her vulnerability. It is a nuanced and weighty turn.
Cate Marquis In writer/director Linda Olte’s drama Sisters, two sisters who are in foster care in a group home in Latvia have very different reactions when they hear that an American couple wants to adopt them. Young Diana, about six-years-old, is delighted at the thought of being adopted but her older sister, 13-year-old Anastasija (Emma Skirmante, in a touching performance), is much cooler to the idea. Anastasija still hopes, even dreams, that their charming but unreliable mother, who lives on the edge and has not visited them in over a year, will finally come to take them home. The head of the foster care home tries to convince Anastasija that will never happen but still the strong-willed 13-year-old girl can’t let go of her dream. The story is told from the viewpoint of Anastasija, who struggles with her dreams of her family reuniting and her yearning for her mother’s love. Actually, Anastasija is the middle daughter, as the older sister has already aged out of foster case and even has a baby she is caring for as a single parent. Leaving Latvia means Anastasija would have to leave both her birth-mother and her older sister. Wrestling with her decision, Anastasija tracks down her absent mother and surprises her at work. While her mother looks glad see her daughter, she also deflects Anastasija’s talk about bringing the girls home. Anastasija finds herself having to make a very difficult choice to stay or go, in this heart-wrenching coming-of-age drama.
FILM DETAILS:
Title: Sisters
Director: Linda Olte
Release Date: December 1. 2023
Running Time: 104 minutes
Language: Latvian with English subtitles
Screenwriters: Linda Olte
Distribution Company: Indie Pix
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Leslie Combemale, Nikki Fowler, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
Other Movies Opening This Week
Edited by Jennifer Merin
