REVIEW: "Shoplifters"

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Hirokazu Kore-eda

Written by: Hirokazu Koreeda (original story) & Hirokazu Koreeda (screenplay)

Starring: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Kairi Jō, Miyu Sasaki & Kirin Kiki

In Theaters: June 8, 2018 (Japan)

Expectations were high and, somehow, the movie suprassed them. Winner of the Palme d'Or, Shoplifters is the tale of a family who relies on shoplifting so they can cope poverty, but it happens they also rely on some kind of love. The movie is about that: love!

There's no way to deny Shoplifters is about dishonest people doing dishonest things, emotional people and not rational people, a bunch of society's outcasts - it's a slow building narrative, but it has enough strong elements to immerse the audiences. Shoplifters is, in fact, a narrative, directing and acting triumph without even trying!

Hirokazu Kore-eda's sensitive directing touch is simply A-class. The movie is simple, yet it is wonderful - a cinematic translation of "less is more". And the ensemble acting? Wonderful. From Lily Franky and Sakura Ando, who are wonderful as a couple who has nothing but a golden heart, to veteran Kirin Kiki as the scene-stealing Hatsue Shibata... This movie features some of the best ensemble acting of the year, for sure. And let's not forget the "camera-loves-her" Miyu Sasaki and the charismatic Kairi Jõ - both newcomers, both cinematic magnets!

By the time the movie ends, I was a wreck, devastated, with a bittersweet taste in my mouth and a inner new sense of what love really is. Love bounds people. Shoplifters is a beautiful cinematic heartbreaker and the best movie I've seen this year.

RATING: 5 / 5

Oscar potential categories:

Best Foreign Picture

[wishful thinking: Kirin Kiki for Best Supporting Actress]

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