An acrylic painting on wood panel, titled 'The Shoplifters', of a nude woman lying on her stomach on a blanket while holding a cigarette. The cigarette is spraying fireworks and at the bottom a family is painted walking along the beach.

The Shoplifters

(2018, Hirokazu Koreeda)

When I ask my friends about this movie in Japan, first their eyes light up and they usually talk about its fame… then follow with a moment of heavy silence, staring at the floor thinking about what to say next. It’s not entirely as depressing as one of the director’s previous film, Nobody Knows, but it still hits on similar themes of unspoken poverty. The story follows a family surviving on shoplifting, low-wage labor and various kinds of exploitation. The whole cast had an amazing performance, particularly Sakura Andō. It’s an important movie to watch, regardless of your cultural background.


A screenshot from the film 'The Shoplifters' of an old crowded Japanese passenger train. An animated gif of a scene from the film 'The Shoplifters' of a young woman and little girl happily practicing how to bow in the mirror. A screenshot of a mother in the bath talking with a little girl that is holding a fishing hook. From the film 'The Shoplifters'.

© 2018 - GAGA Pictures