Gripping drama about thieves who steal your heart.
That blood is not thicker than water is at the center of Hirokazu Koreeda's family drama Shoplifters. A beautiful film that offers both uplifting humanism and some unexpected twists.It is clear that Koreeda has family as his most important subject when making films. Or rather the lack of family. In previous films such as Nobody Knows or Like Father, Like Son (both prize winners at Cannes) he explores how to create your own community even if you are not born into it. That theme is most clearly repeated in Shoplifters.
Here, in the beginning, we meet Osamu (Franky Lily) and a boy who smoothly picks up goods in a store without paying. But on their way home, they suddenly see a freezing little girl who seems to have run away from her destructive parents. They decide that she can accompany them to their house, where 3 women, one of whom is a grandmother, also live. At first, the girl is waiting, but the slightly messy and loud gathering in the family means that she will soon be living there indefinitely.
At first glance, it is nothing more than that. We get to follow the lives of the various family members and see how they try to cope with everyday life with little money. And really that would have been enough. Koreeda is a master at portraying everyday situations that don't really have much to say, but are completely fascinating to us moviegoers.
But Shoplifters also have other sides. With about a third of the film remaining, Koreeda reshuffles the cards and takes the story to unexpected lands. It works surprisingly well and is a good move purely dramaturgically.
The actors are all excellent, not least the 2 children, and the film is tight, but beautifully shot in all its everydayness. As usual, Koreeda does not go for the sentimental, but mainly spices up the story with a humanism that is really felt right down to the heart.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Family Found, Family Lost
A story of people, not bound by blood, with nothing but warmth and a quiet promise to survive together.Grandma, once alone, finds her final comfort in the family she built. Osamu and Minato’s flawed but real bond deeply moved me.
The film doesn’t excuse their mistakes, showing how care and survival can be labeled as crimes when the law fails to protect those experiencing abuse.
The melting snowman quietly reminds us that joy doesn’t last forever. They eventually part ways, the family dissolves; but the truth remains: family is not blood, but the bonds we choose.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Does blood relation make you actually a family?
Shoplifters is one of those movies that deserve a spot on every must-watch movie list; it's a great example of how Japan is the pioneer of cinematic storytelling. This movie took me through so many emotions and really defined the meaning of family.The film addresses many societal issues, but it presents them in such a way that they exist in a grey area. It’s difficult to label the characters’ actions as entirely wrong, yet they can’t be deemed right either. For instance, when they decide to keep the little girl It’s saying it’s not a kidnapping if you don’t ask for a ransom. It’s similar logic to how Osamu justifies stealing to Shota, telling him it’s OK if it’s not someone else’s property and that items in a store don’t belong to anyone yet.
Though the characters in the movie are not blood-related and each one has their own backstory of hiding, lying, damaged and frightened, they create a warm, cozy family, making the best of things from day to day. The dynamic between them is so warm and beautiful that it makes you wonder if you could choose your family, could you actually be happy? Does blood relation make you actually a family? This is exactly the theme in this movie. As a viewers, we witness their crimes but also see the genuine love they share as a family, which makes it challenging to condemn them. Perhaps, this is what the movie wants us to notice: that sometimes certain things are very much a grey area and it is difficult to differentiate the right from wrong!
Also, the movie dives deep into a part of society we don’t see often: the marginalized community, the poor who don’t have enough money to even eat, yet they have still have so much warmth and love for each other.
"Shoplifter" is a delicate work painted with so many details, moments, smiles, and is deeply intelligent.In term of acting, the actors did a phenomenal job in portraying these characters, giving them so much depth in their humanistic storytelling, and I have strong admiration towards Sakura Ando; she delivered such a strong performance in this role, with so much depth and layers. This is one of those movies that you will never see and nobody would be able to recreate. The last few minutes of the movie still haunt me; it left me with a profound sense of loss as if I myself lost a family I found.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
lindo drama
Conforme eu fui assistindo e ficando feliz com a estrutura familiar apesar de tudo, eu ficava muito mais apreensivo esperando algo de ruim acontecer e quando aconteceu, eu quebrei.vou bater eternamente na tecla que de família é quem te oferece amor e não quem somente compartilha seu sangue. é cruelmente lindo a maneira que a família aqui se relaciona, cada um com background horrível com uma segunda chance de provar um pouco da felicidade. é muito claro a maneira como cada membro se importava com o outro ao ponto de suportar e de se submeter a situações não convencionais para o bem estar de todo mundo. se tratando do koreeda eu já sabia que essa seria uma obra que mexeria no coração e realmente ele sabe trabalhar em um drama como ninguém!!
Was this review helpful to you?
