Shoplifters
(Manbiki kazoku)

Awarded the 2018 Palme d’or at Cannes, Shoplifters sparked a polemical debate in Japan. Its description of a needy working class where people hold more than one job and steal to survive tarnished the image of the country. However, without understating the impact of this social reality Kore-eda backs away from any naturalistic temptation, preferring to focus on what is said in order to portray the life of a family whose sole asset is their refusal to give up on happiness. By stealing 4-year-old Juri from her abusive parents and welcoming her into their cramped home, Osamu and Nobuyo upend the traditional and moral frameworks. But as the needle works its thread until it snaps, this “ideal” family” is determined to keep alive its incompressible need for love. JB