The 2018 Palme d’Or winner from Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows, Still Walking) begins with the mischief and intrigue of a heist movie, but Shoplifters is much more.  

Osamu (Lily Franky), a middle-aged man, and Shota (Kairi Jyo), a young boy, walk into a grocery store. They play it cool, not speaking but, rather, signaling to each other with their hands and eyes. One provides cover while the other snatches goods, as they nonchalantly stroll out the door with a hidden bounty before anyone notices. Osamu and Shota then find four-year-old Juri (Miyu Sasaki) freezing on a balcony and take her back to their poor but happy home. And though Osamu’s wife does not want another mouth to feed, any plans to return Juri to her parents is no longer an option after signs of abuse are discovered on the little girl’s body.  

However, they risk exposing themselves to the authorities and upending their tenuous, below-the-radar existence, as filmmaker they risk exposing themselves to the authorities and upending their tenuous, below-the-radar existence, as Kore-eda exudes a quiet compassion for these outcasts struggling to make ends meet in a merciless urban environment, while including gentle humor and heartfelt social commentary into a sublimely moving tale of outsiders fighting for their dignity.  

Shoplifters is a case study of the concepts that have always fascinated Kore-eda, as his body of work, while set in his native Japan, meditates on family life and contemporary society. However, he began to ambitiously venture away from the familiar portraits of his home country and Shoplifters, despite his prestige, was quite controversial in Japan, due to its critique of Japan’s economic disparity, yet was a financial blockbuster.  

Film selection and text written by Charles Coleman, Facets Film Program Director.