Shoplifters

This movie was truly devastating.

The master of cute-kids-in-tragic-circumstances has done it again! Koreeda is a master of directing children and bringing out these amazing mature performances and Shoplifters is no different. This movie explores the concept of whether family is what you're born into or the people you choose. It's about two abandoned children who are raised by a less than exemplary family which teaches them to steal and deceive but dammit these people have so much love to give and they share what little they've got. It makes you wonder who's in the wrong here and whether we can even know for sure. Koreeda has an extensive filmography and yet I want more, I can only hope he continues making such wonderful movies and he deserves all the accolades.

A wonderful, touching, funny, devastating movie. Absolutely amazing performances from the actors, including the little ones. The slow reveal draws you in and shatters you entirely, then makes you smile again. Also see Broker by the same writer/director.

I really enjoyed this one. It was a touching tale of love and loss, an exploration into the value of family and the importance of chosen family. Its a journey through poverty and the lengths people will go to in order to survive, the innocence of childhood and the corruption that can arise from even the purest intentions. This, so far, is i think my favorite of all the movies I've watched this year. The relationships and bonds are so well written and well acted, every potential dynamic and pairing is explored. This truly feels like a family unit, with the children being the heart and soul of the film, but the adults all bringing something so crucial in each dynamic. A less heart filled film would've ended much sooner, it felt like such a treat to continue to see more of these characters even after they were caught, to see how that impacted them, to watch the little steps towards the children especially making their own way in life. Every second of this film is dripping with love. Its devastating and beautiful.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This film is SO beautiful. Love pours from it and flows through it. It touches on so many important subjects and raises so many questions about what's morally right and wrong. The little kids, Shota and Yuri/Lin are the heart of this film, their mum Yoko is the soul, but every character earned such a special place in my heart, they were all written with so much care and attention and softness. I definitely need to rewatch again because it being spoken in a language I don't understand, even if with the aid of subtitles, there's a lot of meaning that gets lost and this film is particularly filled with it. The last two scenes will stay on my mind for days to come I'm sure of it, and that's when I know a movie should go straight to my favourites list.

9.7/10

Bittersweet. A beautiful exploration of family and poverty in 21st century Japan. Right from the start, the movie finds the exact right tone. It’s warm and sweet without ever becoming too sentimental, almost like a Ghibli film in live action. The cinematography is gorgeous and the acting feels so authentic and real (the younger cast included!). The writing specifically excels at investing you in these characters, while not forgetting to include some subtle complexity. The film opens with one of our protagonists shoplifting and kidnapping a child, and yet because the writing is so strong, you don’t think of him as this irredeemable asshole. As the film progresses, the film presents us with some dark emotional moments that are sure to leave an impression on your memory because you care so much about these people. It also plays with this idea of the chosen family vs the biological family, think _The Rise of Skywalker_ if those final moments had any authentic weight. This is honestly pretty much perfect for what it’s trying to do, every choice I find to be incredibly tasteful. You could call it a perfect ‘tearjerker’, but since we tend to associate that term with cheap trash, I’m not going to. Just know that if you’re the sensitive type, this one’s really effective at tugging at your emotions.

9/10

Ruminations on the essence of family with a scrappy group of bottom-feeders, discarded and neglected by society at large. Living well below the poverty line, stealing what they can't afford, their household exists on the outskirts of civilization; a phantom in more ways than one. The general population is perfectly happy to turn a blind eye upon the situation and this ragtag, close-knit little unit is content with the same arrangement, despite the guarded air of closeted secrets looming over the household.

It's the kind of film you know probably doesn't end well, so you just enjoy the good times while they last. The movie itself seems to feel the same way, lingering in those sweet moments of quiet memory and cozy togetherness for as long as it can, delaying the inevitable. Of course, eventually something has to give, and then it's a crushing landslide of sudden public interest and consequence, hitting all the harder for the delicate harmony that existed, so freely, prior to the vortex.

Heartfelt and thoughtful, with a stirring message and no true heroes or villains; just people, doing what they think is right, no matter how misguided that might seem from another angle.

Imagine creating a movie that starts out so calming and peaceful, but slowly creates a narrative that makes you wonder what details you're missing from the story. Only at the very end are those questions answered, some to a lesser extent than others. There isn't really a way to define this movie in layman's terms; all I will say is that this film explores themes in a way that will resonate with audiences for a long time.