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View Full Version : Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda)



Peng
08-04-2018, 01:32 PM
http://img.goldposter.com/2018/07/shoplifters_poster_goldposter_ com_12.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,m_fill,h_800,w_572/quality,q_80

https://www.showasia.ru/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Shoplifters-T1111.jpg

Peng
08-04-2018, 01:35 PM
Koreeda's most ambitious film in quite a while, which doesn't necessarily translate to him making the best use of his humanism. There is a feeling of actual anger and indictment aimed towards restricting institution behind his new exploration of modern family make-ups, especially near the end. That act sees a bracing introduction of The Third Murder's cold, distanced look at shifting perspectives into the director's usual humanistic tale, leading to maybe the most subdued, yet also most lastingly devastating final scenes I've seen from him.

However, the nature of this film's makeshift family, with everyone having their own different stories, may exceed his grasp a little bit. It makes for a great ending, and fascinating riff on his pet thematic ground. But it also means that for about half of the film, these relationships never burrow as deep as the ones in his late run of other family films, where the cohesive thrust of one story creates a more effortlessly sublime sense of family unit. This is more rotating thread after thread, which are pleasant and often affecting, but the audience's powerful bond to characters of his other films feels a little strained here. Still some great lovely scenes where it all comes together though, like the dealing with old clothes, firework watching, or family's day at the beach. Of the enormously charming cast, Sakura Ando is the acting standout, but Kirin Kiki's reliable presence remains an absolute treasure here as it was in After the Storm; she is such a perfect embodiment of Koreeda's spirit that one hopes the director never stop casting her. 7.5/10

Spinal
01-13-2019, 09:51 PM
Absolutely wonderful. Although very different in many ways, it's somewhat reminiscent of The Florida Project. People living in extreme poverty who are able to eke out an existence that contains comforting routine and deep love. However, their lives are on flimsy ground. Only the second film I've seen from this director, but he appears to be some kind of master. One of the year's best.

Grouchy
01-31-2019, 02:32 AM
Only the second film I've seen from this director, but he appears to be some kind of master.
You should watch After Life if it's not the other one.

I don't follow Koreeda's career step by step but I understand why this has been hailed as a crowning achievement. It's subtly moving in the way his films usually are and it features an unusually large, colorful cast of characters. This type of slow-moving film isn't for everyone, to be granted, but I think it paid off with the devastating climax.


Although very different in many ways, it's somewhat reminiscent of The Florida Project.
The cultural comparison there is interesting. The family in Shoplifters feels varied degrees of guilt while the Mom from Florida Project constantly takes out her frustration in others.

Grouchy
01-31-2019, 03:06 PM
By the way, Sean Baker gave his two cents about the movie on Letterboxd:


This film had a strange effect on me. It grew on me, winning me over more and more with every scene. Ultimately, I love it and feel it's one of the strongest of the year. See it on the big screen. Watching with an engaged audience last night was quite an experience.I knew Sakura Andô was star material when I first saw her in Sion Sono's Love Exposure. She rocks in this.
It looks great. Shot primarily on 35mm. I assume the night exteriors are Alexa Mini.
Arri Alexa Mini, Leica Summicron-C and Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses
Arricam ST, Canon K-35, Leica Summicron-C, Zeiss Ultra Prime, Fujinon Alura and Angenieux Optimo Lenses
Arriflex 535B, Canon K-35, Leica Summicron-C, Zeiss Ultra Prime, Fujinon Alura and Angenieux Optimo Lenses
It is the first Japanese Palme d'Or-winner since The Eel in 1997.

PURPLE
01-31-2019, 07:16 PM
Personally, I don't find this any kind of crowning achievement. It's very similar in form to many of his films: An unusual family situation which he uses to explore the core fundamentals of families and what is meaningful and what is not. This is not to say that it's not a great film, it's just that it's not exceptional. I think in most circles his crowning achievement is seen as Still Walking, but that might be because it's most reminiscent of what is considered to be Ozu's crowning achievement in Tokyo Story, and I don't think either is the case. That might just be because neither should be boiled down to one film, though, as they both have a large number of great films. Personally my favorite is Our Little Sister, which is perhaps the least talked about of his recent films. That, really, is another reason why the "crowning achievement" moniker is a bad idea: That works if your films are all variations on a theme and then one film rises above them all as both a summation of and an improvement on everything else - and you can see those if you're interested, but it's not necessary. That's just not the case here.

Peng
02-01-2019, 12:49 AM
I still have like 6-7 of his films yet to see, but my favorite of his is After Life, while among his recent batch of meaning-of-family films, After the Storm hits me the hardest.

dreamdead
03-10-2019, 12:10 AM
Really found this powerful, even if the first hour is more pitch-perfect than the second hour. As I haven't caught up with his work since Nobody Knows, it was a pleasant reminder of his skill with framing and understated drama. In many ways, it's what Kore-eda chooses to elide that make the film extra interesting in the second half, even if it's not always quite as artfully woven. Why wouldn't the "parents" (Nobuyo and Osamu) simply work to convince the social work/police officers of their innocence of any wrongdoing in the grandmother's death? While it may be tough sledding, Nobuyo seems content enough to suffer the transgressions of the state, unless she believes it's penance for the other petty crimes that they committed along the way.

It wasn't a surprise that the film chose the penultimate sequence for the payoff to "Dad" but the final cut to the Juri/Yuri. Oof. That's the kind of brutality that I'd forgotten Kore-eda could choose to explore.

Sakura Ando is amazing in this. Luminous throughout, and her scene in the prison is exceptional.

Irish
03-18-2019, 02:41 PM
Carefully and thoughtfully made but the last act is forced and the film is sentimental.

I liked the compositions and the shots and enjoyed the performances but, wow, the ending is manipulative as hell and horribly sappy.

Voted yay, but it's a conflicted yay. The movie presents this benign fantasy and then conjures up ways to violate it because ... plot, I guess? It ends being a pleasant but trivial experience, like reading a series of sgreeting cards for 2 hours.

Really well designed and executed greeting cards, but still.

Rico
04-09-2019, 12:47 PM
I'm just glad movies like this are being made outside of Hollywood.