Brothers and sisters share a unique bond. It is full of squabbles and teasing and then some rona dhona : ( but deep within we know that we have got each other’s back. This Rakshabandhan, we bring to you some of our favorite brother-sister movie recommendations.
1) Luke and Leia (Star Wars)
Director: George Lucas
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Currently Streaming on Hotstar
Friyay’s Take: Leave everything and watch this.
We couldn’t obviously compile a list of movie siblings without including the most iconic pair in the galaxy. Luke and Leia meet as two rebel warriors, united by their urge to defeat Darth Vader and save the galaxy from the Empire’s cruelty. Theirs is a bond formed through struggles and fortifies through them being twins (the best-kept secret in the Star Wars universe).
2) Ferris and Jeanie (Ferris Bueller’s Day off)
Director: John Hughes
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara
Currently Streaming on Netflix
Friyay’s Take: Add this to your watchlist.
Like most teenagers, Jeanie Bueller doesn’t much get along with her brother. You can’t blame poor Jeannie, Ferris is indeed a bit of a nightmare. So, when she finds out he’s bunking school, she is eager to foil his plans. While we all want to have the kind of relationship where this doesn’t happen but siblings do love to snitch. This is indeed a very familiar sibling set up for all of us.
3) Sammy and Terry (You Can Count on Me)
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Cast: Laura Linney, Matthew Broderick, Amy Ryan
Currently Streaming on Amazon Prime Videos
Friyay’s Take: Leave everything and watch this.
This follows the story of Sammy Prescott, a single mother who, after his girlfriend attempts suicide, invites her brother to stay at her house. The two frequently lock heads in the film as their opinions on life, parenting and dating are so different. Yet, although there are many disagreements, the message is clear at its heart. You can count on your sibling to always be there, whether you understand each other or not.
4) Wendy and John (The Savages)
Director: Tamara Jenkins
Cast: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco
Currently Streaming on Amazon Prime Videos
Friyay’s Take: Leave everything and watch this.
In The Savages, as her father becomes ill with dementia, a woman is forced to face her past. They join forces with her brother to take care of him, but it’s not as easy as they had planned. The two are surrounded by her childhood trauma, and the fact that it has pushed them into emotionally unsatisfactory lives.
5) Elizabeth and Donnie (Donnie Darko)
Director: Richard Kelly
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell
Currently Streaming on Amazon Prime Videos
Friyay’s Take: Leave everything and watch this.
Donnie Dark is an extremely surreal film about a young boy who hallucinates and fears the end of the world. Clearly no one trusts in him. He is being treated as a troubled kid and put on medication. It makes the relationship with his older sister Elizabeth very complicated, as she is more interested in moving ahead with drinking and planning. There are a few funny scenes where the two swap insults. However, as the film comes to a climax, we see that Elizabeth is genuinely scared and worried about Donnie, she is indeed his closest friend. This is another brother-sister unmissable movie.
6) Sheryl and Frank/ Dwayne and Olive (Little Miss Sunshine)
Director:Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear
Currently Streaming on Amazon Prime Videos
Friyay’s Take: Leave everything and watch this.
In this adorable movie there are two sets of siblings, but that’s no surprise because it’s all about the messy, complicated existence of families. Mother of two Cheryl ends up helping her brother after suicide attempts. All this while helping her daughter make it a beauty pageant and guiding her teenage son through a challenging time in her life. Both the relationships in this film are dysfunctional, but it’s aimed at reminding the audience that chaotic, weird, special and imaginative is still better than ideal.
7) Maggie and Milo (The Skeleton Twins)
Director: Craig Johnson
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Luke Wilson
Currently Streaming on Amazon Prime Videos
Friyay’s Take: Add this to your watch list
The Skeleton Twins is a profoundly sad film but it is oddly uplifting as well. This portrays Milo and Maggie, twins who have been estranged and have not spoken for a decade. That is, until coincidentally, they both end up contemplating suicide the very same night. Milo has a failed attempt and when she gets a call about her brother Maggie is about to take a bunch of pills. The move in together for support, but only end up repeating past mistakes. While the journey is difficult for both of these characters, they’re surprised to find strength in one another.
While you enjoy these movies and have a wonderful Rakshabandhan celebrations, do check out our app Friyay for more recommendations of movies and TV shows.
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