'Your Sister's Sister' opens today at the Ross

Scene from Woody Allen's "To Rome with Love."
Scene from Woody Allen's "To Rome with Love."

"Your Sister's Sister," a tale of grief, romance and sibling rivalry, opens today at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Also continuing to show at the Ross is Woody Allen's ode to Italy, "To Rome with Love."

Both films are rated R and play through July 26.

"Your Sister's Sister" is the fourth feature from Sundance award-winning filmmaker Lynn Shelton. The film showcases Shelton's ability to portray human stories with humor, sensitivity and warmth.

A year after his brother's death, Jack (played by Mark Duplass), is an emotionally unstable slacker. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, the dead brother's ex-girlfriend Iris (Emily Blunt) offers up her family cabin on an island in the Pacific Northwest so Jack can seek catharsis in solitude. Once there, however, he runs into Iris' sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) — she is reeling from the abrupt end of a seven-year relationship and finding solace in the affable Tom's unexpected presence and the two bond over a long night of drinking.

The blurry evening concludes with an awkward interaction. Iris' sudden presence at the cabin the next morning sets into motion a twisted tale of ever-complicated relationships.

“To Rome With Love” is a comedy about a number of people in Italy — some locals, some visitors — and the romances, adventures and predicaments they get into.

The film crosses paths with a well-known American architect reliving his youth; an average middle-class Roman who suddenly finds himself Rome’s biggest celebrity; a young provincial couple drawn into separate romantic encounters; and an American opera director endeavoring to put a singing mortician on stage.

While Rome is a city abundant with romance and comedy, “To Rome With Love” is about people having adventures that will change their lives forever.

For more information, including show times, go to http://www.theross.org or call 402-472-5353.