I'll mark spoilers just in case, but I don't really reveal plot points, just the themes that the film presents in the end.
You can think of Shoplifters as a twist on the classic crime family formula such as Goodfellas and The Godfather; Koreeda's twist is that he just focuses on the drama about building a relationship on morally-questionable intent. The first half of this film plays out like a typical movie about a family of misfits and outcasts. The thieves/hosts play parents and grandma to a handful of children that come from either abusive, neglectful, or pressuring parents. Here the children are their happiest and they build very sincere relationships with each other. Yet there are sprinkled hints of bad intent; our adult protagonists are framed like Robinhood characters, but as we continue the viewers logic and society in the film reveals them to be more closely related to the typical scum criminals can be. Maybe the hosts weren't trying to be helpful, but rather fulfill their own personal wants while putting others in danger?
Koreeda doesn't answer these questions of the character's intent, because he doesn't want us to know. Koreeda wants us to ask what is parenthood and family. If it's a safe space, the thieving hosts very well provided that as opposed to the other families. The kids were arguably the most free to be kids when with them. However if family should provide a moral backbone, felons are not your number one pick. And there is much more moral inquisition but these were the ones that stuck out to me.
In terms of the technical aspects, despite the cold blue coloring this was a very cozy and warm film. All the actors performed really well and seemed genuine, the main house set is very small but not cramped in the way it was shot, and sound was typically diegetic making the film world seem alive. There was one shot-reverse-shot where the characters were framed in the direct center, facing the camera (similar to a tatami shot), and while cool, it was never repeated again, making it a little inconsistent with the rest of the film. Otherwise, not really much to criticize on the technical front.
On a personal note, this film came to me at a time while I'm reconsidering what my friendship is like with others, so the themes of the story really resonated with me. Did I just spend years building a relationship on a fake persona of myself? Are they friends with me or are they friends with my actions and speech rather than my intent? Should I be picky or should I cut my losses? "No one wants to die alone" like the film says, and it's not like I'll care about what they say at my funeral. I don't know if this film is helping me cope or if it's just adding variables to my turmoiled mind, but it felt like it was talking about me at some points, and maybe if it was like that for me, maybe it will be for you too.
You can think of Shoplifters as a twist on the classic crime family formula such as Goodfellas and The Godfather; Koreeda's twist is that he just focuses on the drama about building a relationship on morally-questionable intent. The first half of this film plays out like a typical movie about a family of misfits and outcasts. The thieves/hosts play parents and grandma to a handful of children that come from either abusive, neglectful, or pressuring parents. Here the children are their happiest and they build very sincere relationships with each other. Yet there are sprinkled hints of bad intent; our adult protagonists are framed like Robinhood characters, but as we continue the viewers logic and society in the film reveals them to be more closely related to the typical scum criminals can be. Maybe the hosts weren't trying to be helpful, but rather fulfill their own personal wants while putting others in danger?
Koreeda doesn't answer these questions of the character's intent, because he doesn't want us to know. Koreeda wants us to ask what is parenthood and family. If it's a safe space, the thieving hosts very well provided that as opposed to the other families. The kids were arguably the most free to be kids when with them. However if family should provide a moral backbone, felons are not your number one pick. And there is much more moral inquisition but these were the ones that stuck out to me.
In terms of the technical aspects, despite the cold blue coloring this was a very cozy and warm film. All the actors performed really well and seemed genuine, the main house set is very small but not cramped in the way it was shot, and sound was typically diegetic making the film world seem alive. There was one shot-reverse-shot where the characters were framed in the direct center, facing the camera (similar to a tatami shot), and while cool, it was never repeated again, making it a little inconsistent with the rest of the film. Otherwise, not really much to criticize on the technical front.
On a personal note, this film came to me at a time while I'm reconsidering what my friendship is like with others, so the themes of the story really resonated with me. Did I just spend years building a relationship on a fake persona of myself? Are they friends with me or are they friends with my actions and speech rather than my intent? Should I be picky or should I cut my losses? "No one wants to die alone" like the film says, and it's not like I'll care about what they say at my funeral. I don't know if this film is helping me cope or if it's just adding variables to my turmoiled mind, but it felt like it was talking about me at some points, and maybe if it was like that for me, maybe it will be for you too.