It may be an Australian film from a writer/director born in Taiwan, but Little Sparrows has a definite European sensibility, with its leisurely exploration of a middle-class family's problems. Susan (Nicola Bartlett), the mother of three grown daughters, is married to James (James Hagan), an actor who has been far from reliable as a husband and father. When Susan discovers that her breast cancer has returned, she gathers the family together for one last Christmas. It's refreshing to see a family drama where there is genuine love and respect on display, and a distinct lack of bitter recriminations and screaming confrontations. The daughters - widowed parent Nina (Nina Deasley), actress Anna (Melanie Munt) and student Christine (Arielle Gray) - are each dealing with secrets, guilt and issues of self-esteem, and Susan, with the intense passion of someone who knows their time is limited, attempts to give them the courage to do right what she did wrong. The male characters are paper thin, and the pace is a little too languid at times, but it's a gentle, bittersweet tale held together by Bartlett's emotionally charged performance.

In the midst of an Australian summer, we meet three sisters. Nina is widowed with two young children. Anna is an aspiring actress unhappily married to a filmmaker. Christine is a med student who is yet to fully come to terms with her sexuality. When their mother Susan's breast cancer returns, the family is faced with choices and the reality of their last Christmas together. Simple and sincere, Little Sparrows celebrates life and the unconditional love of a mother.