Yes, you can toast with tea and see this movie.

“Father Mother Sister Brother” is Jim Jarmusch’s anthology about estranged families in three different countries, and yet, it’s neither clichéd nor stressful. It’s more in a “read between the lines” sense, and it manages to sneak in some sly wit and key elements. We have tea, Rolex watches, water, and slow motion and normal shots of skateboarders, and, Bob’s your uncle, they all feel connected. I’m surprised no skateboarders were harmed or beeped at when they ride out in the streets.

I knew it was an anthology film regarding the subject of family, but I never watched the trailer for it, so I wouldn’t know exactly what it would entail. I knew its cast includes Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Tom Waits, Vicky Krieps, and Charlotte Rampling, but I didn’t know what pathos they would have in store for the audience. But whatever is going on in these families, they’re more somber than argumentative. And that’s kind of refreshing considering the fights that families engage in.

In the first story, set in America, Driver and Mayim Bialek play two siblings Jeff and Emily, who drive in a snowy countryside to their estranged father’s (Waits) house, where they make toasts with water and tea, and wonder about their old man’s well being. Jeff asks if anyone can toast with water and tea, and Emily wonders how their father was financially stable without social security. Is this old man really lonely and is his house really in a state of decay? And Jeff does suggest that their father should have the muddy driveway paved. That’s for the old man to know and for us to guess that, and let his adult children leave without saying: “I love you” to him.

In the second story, set in Dublin, a celebrated writer (Rampling) is preparing tea and desserts for her two daughters’ annual visits. They only reunite once a year, not even on holidays. They consist of Timothea (Blanchett), whose car breaks down but makes it to her mother’s house, and Lilith (Krieps with pink hair), who is a financially troubled social media influencer. And the other two don’t even know what that is. Add an overheard shot of the delicious looking treats and you have a gorgeous looking scene.

And in the third story, set in Paris, two siblings Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luke Sabbat) reunite when their parents die in a plane crash. They return to their childhood home, where they question about whether or not their marriage licenses and their birth certificates are real. No brother-sister arguments and taunting necessary, just their own examinations on their parents’ lives, as well as their own. “A trip down memory lane,” one would say.

“Father Mother Sister Brother” is Jarmusch’s first feature since “The Dead Don’t Die” and it’s also his most passionate since “Paterson.” Consider how Allison Williams and McKenna Grace handled their pathos like bickering siblings in “Regretting You.” And now, really look at these adult siblings in this movie, and see how they don’t resort to the “I don’t want to see him/her again” or “you’ve ruined my life” quotes. You’re supposed to see and acknowledge how they somberly and sometimes awkwardly reconnect after a while, and wonder what is on their minds.

The best performances in the film come from Waits, Krieps, Moore, and Sabbat, because of the way they express their characters through the poetry of words. And the Waits character says: “Bob’s your uncle,” which his kids seem to have never heard of before.

I didn’t understand everything going on in “Father Mother Sister Brother,” and I can’t really spoil them for you, but I was able to read between most of the lines and enjoy what Jarmusch brings to his characters. Sometimes, it’s funny, and most of the time, it’s considerate. That’s how you know you’re in the right territory of his filmography. And Bob’s your uncle, it’s smart and entertaining.

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