‘The Good Sister’ Review – The Claustrophobia Of Family [Berlinale 2025]

It is always a unique experience when we have a woman behind the camera. Female directors bring a unique perspective to filmmaking. Sarah Miro Fischer’s debut feature The Good Sister is the perfect example of that—how scene composition and actor blocking work in favor of the narrative and storytelling beyond the dialogue.

Fischer perfectly composes a scene. Her direction guides the actors to the depth of their performances. Rose is the shy and awkward younger sister, a fact confirmed by her body language as we observe her finishing her chores in silence. On the other hand, Sam, the older more accomplished and popular brother, walks with a confident swagger. Both Marie Bloching and Anton Weil perfectly portray that. They capture the essence of both siblings perfectly, and their close dynamic shows on screen, setting the tone for what will come next.

Rose is the sister on the margins, a shy girl who vanishes into the background as soon as she goes out into the world, unlike her brother Sam, the star of the family and their friend groups. One day, Rose wakes up to a call to provide testimony on a rape charge against her brother. The world falls quickly apart, stemming from this critical moment. Fischer carefully places Rose at the right place in every scene. Her scene composition and actor blocking is perfect. The mise-en-scene always cuts a part of Rose, as if there’s always something missing, and she is rarely seen at the center of the frame. Her most prominent closeup scene is during the interrogation, making for one of the most uncomfortable moments in the film. Fischer builds up the tension slowly, in a realistic form of facing an ugly truth between people too familiar with one another. It doesn’t start with a bang, but the darkness slowly seeps in.

The cinematography is brilliant. DP Selma von Polheim Gravesen worked closely with Fischer to create frames within frames to trap Rose in the house she shares with her brother. Her home is the oasis she always runs to for safety, but it becomes a prison for her guilty conscience as she questions what to make of this situation with her brother. Family gatherings become a juicer, squeezing Rose into deeper discomfort after she learns the truth.

The key to this feature is not the big event at its center, but how people deal with the harrowing aftermath. I don’t want to spoil the big reveal even when it’s in the synopsis for those who want to go into a movie without knowing anything, but that’s some dark revelation about humans, especially the ones we’ve lived with all our lives. It’s a scary road to walk, a thin wire between what’s right and wrong. But it’s also interesting to see a “real” woman for a change, someone who doesn’t have a grip on her career or love life. In many recent films, there has been a push for portraying, strong, independent women who rely on nobody and have a perfect command of their lives. But many of those women are sci-fi manifestations of multiple women who are – yes – strong but confused about what to do with their adult lives. Rose is both a comfort to watch but also frustrating to follow her randomness in handling her chaotic, daily life and this honest portrayal is something Fischer should be applauded for.

The Good Sister is not about being good or bad, in both stretchy and broad terms. At the core of this film is a love story between a brother and a sister, but as the ripples get bigger and wider, things start to dissociate. Love is put to the test when people have to face the consequences of their actions and question the validity of the support they are giving to their loved ones. This is a thought-provoking film, beautifully shot and acted.

The Good Sister had its World Premiere in the Panorama section of the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.

Director: Sarah Miro Fischer

Writers: Sarah Miro Fischer, Agnes Maagaard Petersen

Rated: NR

Runtime: 97m