Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda took a brief respite from the family dramas to direct The Third Murder, a legal thriller that did well on the Japanese festival circuit but wasn’t met with his usual acclaim. Perhaps everyone was waiting for Shoplifters, which he debuted at Cannes earlier this year and won the Palme d’Or, the director’s second Cannes victory. Now the film prepares to hit theaters stateside, where many already think it the frontrunner for Best Foreign film at the Oscars.
Shoplifters reunites Koreeda with many of his regulars, like Lily Franky and the late Kirin Kiki, telling the story of a poor family who are only able to get by through petty thievery. When the father takes in a young abandoned girl she quickly becomes a part of their lives and they adopt her, although secrets from her past test the bond they share. Koreeda found some of the best box office success of his career with this film and an Oscars run will only take it to the next level. This is playing at Middleburg in a couple weeks and I can’t wait to be there.
Shoplifters opens on November 23rd.
