I think my favourite scene is when, during fireworks somewhere distant in the city, the family, one by one, poke their head out from under the roof and look skywards. It is not clear if they can actually see the display. We, in the cinema, hear the fireworks, we see the family from above, we imagine too, just like the family, what the fireworks look like.

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

beautifully said. it's a standout moment, and one of only a few where Kore-eda shifts perspective from eye level. I think his idea there is to move outside the family's space for a moment, and ask us to consider them as a family unit. They're all there, together on screen, and they're doing something pretty usual for a family- just watching the fireworks. But we know they're unlike other families! As you point out, we don't see the fireworks; for Kore-eda the focus of the scene is the family watching.

One thing that stood out to me was the scene when Aki is playing with Yuri’s hair in the mirror which resembles when Aki is working at the strip bar in front of the mirrored glass, many things in this scene suggests Yuri could be destined for the same future. At the end of the movie when Shota is on the bus, his head is hung low and hidden behind his baseball cap which strongly resembles Mr Four from the strip bar, whose face is nearly always hidden behind his cap. In retrospect, the strong emotional embrace between Aki and Mr Four in the private room feels like adult versions of Yuri and Shota embracing, two individuals with unfortunate upbringings sharing their pain and loneliness. I am quite possibly reading way too far between the lines, but to me it feels like this was purposely put in by the director.

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

I think that's an absolutely valid reading of the film. You're right to draw a line to that scene with Mr Four too; I think Koreeda's sort of entertaining the possibility that families in general always have strange quirks and flaws, so everyone in one way or another is changed by their upbringing (of course, it's a lot more dramatic in Yuri/Shota's example). Most of Koreeda's films touch on these themes, but in particular I'd recommend Nobody Knows (a very sad, often tough drama about child abandonment) and I Wish (an uplifting if bittersweet comedy about kids in a divorced family).

@Ryan-uf2oi

3 жыл бұрын

The Yuri part sent chills down my spine. I also think this is a valid reading. I didn’t expect anything when I watched this film and wow, I was floored when I finished it.

Cant forget the last scene with yuri's sad eyes.

@ainzstainton9766

4 жыл бұрын

scavengers 19 so sad!! but i think at the end, she see"s shota coming to visit her ☺️

@scavengers19

4 жыл бұрын

@@ainzstainton9766 that would be great! 😃

@cheesekimbap2996

4 жыл бұрын

@@ainzstainton9766 what makes you think that? I'm leaning towards her jumping from the balcony seeing as though her mom still abuses and mistreats her.

@ainzstainton9766

4 жыл бұрын

Cbtobio Mail how tf and why?!! is she gonna fall from the balcony?!! shes only like 4 yrs old dumbass. thats a stupid ending

@fritzdinopol1098

4 жыл бұрын

It depicts another sad issue in Japan which is suicide 🥺

In the last scene when he called him dad, I cried like a school girl,,,that scene haunts me

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

yeah, such a beautiful ending. i think about this movie all the time.

@sarah-wq8jp

3 жыл бұрын

SameeeeT^T

Beautiful and profoundly humanistic. I loved it

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

The Cinema Monologues humanistic is a lovely way to describe it!

@anthoninealexis

3 жыл бұрын

Humanistic is the perfect word, glad it exists!

Beautiful and sad movie, but what gets me is that how can parents neglect their kids. Makes me so angry, broke my heart seeing little yuri sad and playing all by herself. I just wanna jump through the screen and give her a hug.

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

that's the interesting thing about the movie, no? You want to condemn what they do- on the surface it's bad- but underneath you almost feel you might do the same. powerful stuff. thanks for watching the vid!

This movie deserves so much more attention!

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

it's a beautiful film and will last for lifetimes!

This film is a masterpiece. Nothing more nothing less. I was only telling a friend about it today, and bloody well choked up! Brilliant review by the way.

@Indietrix

3 жыл бұрын

thanks, glad you enjoyed the review! and yeah i find myself emotional talking about the film as well. seems like something really powerful about koreeda's humanistic approach is that, by the end of the film, you feel like you really have gotten to know the people in it- so their struggles are yours.

The first time I saw this film I knew it would become my favorite film. I have watched it more than 10 times now. Still my favorite. The most beautiful film I have ever seen, I truly love and appreciate the indescribable beauty of this film.

@Indietrix

3 жыл бұрын

it's such a beautiful film, isn't it?

@beki864

3 жыл бұрын

@@Indietrix the most beautiful I've ever seen.

I found this movie very strange and i just kept on watching, i knew that they were all not blood related straight away, (lost and found family) i was more looking forward to Shotas family to see if he returned and makes it on the headlines, also why was the little girl given back to her family when her parents failed huge and didn't even report her as missing but she was literally handed over to the bad parents so easily. Overall I really liked the movie.

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

thanks for your thoughtful comment Mark- glad you enjoyed the movie!

Loved how the dialogue, especially at the beginning, was so fractured and real - nothing expository, just a family unit comfortable with its parts; luring you in with its ordinaryness but also spelling out the genuine closeness of the "family" so subtly. It kind of bothered me at the beginning as nothing seemed to lead anywhere - but that was the actual point! That fly on the wall dialogue was simply more brushstrokes painting the picture as a whole rather than driving the narrative, which was far more visual and definitely about "moments".

The scene when they visit her in jail is so moving, all the way until they end I was wishing for a different ending...

Incredible movie and superb review. To me the most powerful scene of the film was with Sakura Andō's character talking to the police agent, she's looking straight into our soul and asking us: "Does giving birth makes you a mother?". Devastating. And encapsulates the movie main subject in one shot, her acting was truly impressive, I wish she would've recognized more at international festivals. Wonder if you could recommend japanese films as good as this one? (Already saw Parasite and Burning, love them both but burning took a while to fully sink-in).

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

Hey, thanks for the kind comment! Really glad you enjoyed the movie and it moved you. Japanese film recommendations- Koreeda has a great and varied catalogue which is definitely worth seeking out. He is well-known for films dealing with family and kids, including the very sweet and funny I Wish, the very sad Nobody Knows, and Still Walking which is a straight-up classic. It's also well worth seeking out the films of Yasujiro Ozu, a massive influence on Koreeda (and one of the true masters of cinema- his influence is felt very widely). Tokyo Story is the key touchpoint for Koreeda IMO, although his 'seasons' movies are also very good and Late Spring is widely considered one of his best. You also mentioned a few Korean films, so assuming you have a bit of a wider interest in Asian cinema- you might like to check out the Taiwanese New Wave filmmakers, particularly Edward Yang and Hao Hsiao-Hsien, whose earlier works feel very similar to Koreeda in some respects (mostly due to a shared interest in Ozu I think). I love A Time To Live and a Time To Die, HHH's Three Times and Yang's Yi Yi are also excellent. And really totally different, but Peppermint Candy (by Lee Chang-dong, who directed Burning) is also great. Hope that helps and wishing you happy viewing!

@Mmxxaamm

4 жыл бұрын

Indietrix Film Reviews you’re absolutely right! Should’ve said Asian cinema. Thanks for all the thoughtful recommendations, definitely going to add them all to the quarantine list man 🙌🏼

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

no worries mate, have fun and let me know what you think!

I feel that if I reflect more on this film having just seen it, the moment I'll end up coming back to is when they talk about how much stronger of a decision it is to choose your own family. Shoplifters was excellent and I agree how you could just go on and on about the cinematography and whatnot. Great review!

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

thanks mate, greatly appreciated. I think there's something really brave in basically having an ending sequence (the interrogations) where all the characters reflect on essentially the themes of the film; it could come across heavy handed, but Kore-eda does a beautiful job of it.

Saw it during the summer, definitely one of the best films of 2018. It’s almost like if Michael Hekene was japanese

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

Bruce Wayne interesting comparison! I see his movies as sort of like Ozu :)

the "mother" was loving................ they did their best to be a family..................a happy family......

the scene where Yuri is back at her old home and her mom tells her to say sorry made such a great contrast with the scene where the grandma told her to say sorry for wetting the bed :(

Wow it's been 2 years since you uploaded, but it was cool to hear your thoughts on this film. I just finished watching it and was sobbing and needed closure by listening to other people talk about it and well.. here I am! I have recently been delving into my own mind on what I believe about that world, and one conclusion I find myself falling back on is that I don't believe people are intrinsically bad. I don't believe in the idea of a "bad" person per se. This film just outdoes it with showing us what family is, what family could be, what family should be. A really intense and strong part is when Nobuyo is being interrogated and it looks like she stares straight into camera when she says "that's just what mothers imagine" when answering the statement that "children need their mothers." That was so powerful. Ugh. This one got me right in the feels. It almost had me feeling worse than when I watched The Burmese Harp dir. Ichikawa Kon.

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

thanks so much for the thoughtful comment mate. glad you enjoyed the film. I agree with your thoughts about the film's analysis of its characters' ethics; as I mention in the review, I think the film really delves into their actions and justifications without judging them particularly. It leaves the issue open for the audience to decide, which I think is the best strategy possibly, and certainly a thought-provoking one.

Just saw the film, and loved it: director Hirokazu Kore-eda has given us a thoughtful, layered examination of a self-made family on the edge. Questions of deception and theft are artfully woven throughout the story: Yuri/Lin is abused and abandoned by her "real" parents, whom society, and the legal system, privileges in their investigation, while prosecuting Osamu and Nobuyo, the only real parents Lin has known. Aki deceives her real parents ("I'm in Australia") while working summers in Tokyo as a club hostess delivering transactional intimacy to anonymous clients, yet a private meeting afterwards with Mr. Four offers one of the film's most authentic expressions of pain, loneliness, and connection. Authenticity, artifice, the family you're born into, the families we choose to create, what we value and why---wonderful questions and meditations from this director. A great film . . .

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Agreed that this is an excellent and layered piece of work from Kore-eda, and your comment pulls out some of the ways its themes are intertwined in the action of the film. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work on the big screen at the BFI, this month and the next.

This film was incredibly multi-faceted, thoughtful, and intentional... kinda like this review.

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much mate! I loved the movie. Still think about it all the time.

@aarond9563

5 жыл бұрын

@@Indietrix Same!

Coming to our cinema next weekend. I shared this with my family, in hopes they all come with us to watch it... I'll tell you how it went.

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

Aw, lovely! Hope it goes well. Bring some tissues 😭

It really feels warm, each scene.

Really enchanted by the eloquence of your review. I'm surprised you don't have more followers. Prolly you should do some more Marvels reviews or smthin :)))

@Indietrix

9 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! Yes, that’s exactly why i don’t have more viewers (and i’m happy with that, a small price to pay!)

A deeply beautiful film. A fantastic, colorful review, too. Great work

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

thanks very much, that's really appreciated. glad you liked the movie. I'm over the moon because the BFI is doing a Koreeda retrospective in April and May... very much looking forward to seeing some of his stuff on the big screen.

@dogshitballs

5 жыл бұрын

Sounds great. I'm sure have already checked out Thunder Road (2018), but if not, I am highly recommending it. Would make a great film to review, too

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

I actually haven't seen it yet- it's coming out in the UK shortly- but I do know the director from the filmmakers subreddit, where he posted all the way back when he was making the original short the film is developed from

I couldn't have articulated better myself, thank you for such a short, beautiful analysis.

@Indietrix

3 жыл бұрын

thanks so much for the thoughtful comment!

SPOILERS: I found it so interesting that they are shoplifting, which is not normally done in Japan. So both the "family unit" and their "economics" are outside the norms of Japanese society. The abuse of the young girl was terrible and is a hidden, suppressed issue in Japan today. The director is raising difficult issues that exist in Japanese society. No wonder the right wing and government don't like his work. // This was a very thoughtful review.

@Indietrix

3 жыл бұрын

thanks for your thoughts on this! i'm not that up with japanese politics so that's a depth of analysis i haven't gone into, but it sounds like there's a lot more subtext in there.

Finally saw this the other day after months of wanting to but never getting around to. Loved it. Only discovered Kore-eda by chance when I saw a trailer for After The Storm and sought it out at a tiny local independent cinema, which remains my favourite even after seeing four more of his films since then. I wish I could be a member of a Kore-eda family. I wish Kirin Kiki was my nan.

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

Seeing Maborosi today. Very exciting!

This movie reminded me a bit Lucrecia Martel's La Ciénaga. Not because the end or the "criminal", but the way this director shows us the family and their life. It feels like you are there behind a glass sometimes, just watching them doing stuff. And as you said, this is all about family bonds. There is no good and bad in this life. Yes, they stole a girl. Yes, that's a crime. But look how much they love the little girl and look where she came from

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

I haven’t seen it, have been told lots to go watch Martel’s work so maybe this is the kick I needed. Feel like there’s a few great filmmakers who do this sort of observation, not just covering action and plot but the everyday rhythm of life. Ozu, Kore-eda, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Joanna Hogg.

I've just watched this movie, it was especially captivating . One thing I did not understand clearly is how Aki is connected to the others in the family. She was shocked when she learned grandma knew her real parents, wasn't she? Did she run away from home? Did the parents know she's with grandma? What do you think about it? It was also strange that Aki did not share her income with the others. Thanks!

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

As far as I understand it: - Aki's parents think she's off travelling or in education - Aki secretly lives with 'Grandma' because she sort of knows her- 'Grandma' is the first wife of Aki's grandad - Aki doesn't share her income b/c 'Grandma' makes her keep it? It seems like she supports Aki privately and they have a special bond.

@duaxiong

5 жыл бұрын

My reading: I think the shock was at just how conniving grandma was. Aki living with grandma was a kind of revenge; not only was she taking their guilt money, she was also taking their oldest daughter...the daughter she never had. She made a deal with Aki to get her to move in and that's why she didn't have to share her earnings. The Australia traveling story is a front by the parents, so as to not look bad; they had no idea where she was.

@dulcerodriguez3681

5 жыл бұрын

@@duaxiong Great point. I also think Aki's perception of grandma as conniving was greatly influenced by the authorities as being so. Though grandma was, indeed, scamming and lying to Aki's parents, she was also filling some of Aki's needs that her family maybe did not. For instance, her acceptance of what Aki did for a living without judging her or her keen ability to read Aki's body whenever she was experiencing different emotions. I think this is another central point to the movie. Showcasing how damaging institutionalized community welfare, employment and even family can be. The unorthodox "family" arrangement shows us there is no need to be legally married, to be fully employed, to be attending compulsory school, or even to have a house with a room for everyone in order to provide physical and emotional nourishment and safety, and to feel wholesome and loved. Grandma helped Yuri manage her bed-wetting problem, often typical with kids that have been abused, simply by treating her with dignity, respect and affection and using a simple approach she knew for ages. In our institutionalized systems, Yuri would have been treated as a number, moved from foster home to foster home, visited a number of therapists and other specialists, and ultimately taken back to her abusive environment or someplace worse, without ever successfully "treating" her condition.

Best Foreign Picture 2019!

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

fingers crossed. Cold War is a beautiful film, but Shoplifters is transcendent.

If you can only choose your own family 😘

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

family is such a complex and interesting theme!

Have Nobody Knows on dvd just too afraid to watch it again

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

House Mastiff watch Air Doll instead then :)

@housemastiff8937

5 жыл бұрын

Indietrix Film Reviews thank you I will look for it. May I recommend to you Ocean Heaven.

@GrainneMhaol

5 жыл бұрын

I watched Nobody Knows once and cannot bear to watch it again. Same goes for Airdoll. The former because it's so devastating, the latter because it's so weird.

Just finished the film--enjoyed it immensely. So much eating going on-what does all that eating symbolize?

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

oh, good question! Eating has such an interesting place in movies. In Italian films you'll sometimes see it as a sign of corruption- especially Argento. His police characters are always eating, standing still... anyway, I'm not sure about Kore-eda. You see eating taking a central place in lots of his movies- a significant subplot in I Wish revolves around a traditional type of cake, for instance. I'd guess eating, particularly at a communal family table, has strong significance in Japanese culture, and that's being reflected in Kore-eda's work due to the cultural influence on him and the general importance of family in his work; I've noticed a fair few Ghibli movies do something similar. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

@TripleTreuViet

4 жыл бұрын

That life is all about eating. U need to eat to live. Do u eat to live or live to eat that is the question

Stunning movie, one of the many things that haunts me is why they didn't explain Juri was abused?

@Indietrix

3 жыл бұрын

how do you mean explain? they are quite clear that it is happening, but as the story doesn't really involve her birth parents, it wouldn't make much sense to go more in depth on it i think

@pomegranateemporium

3 жыл бұрын

@@Indietrix sorry I didn't put that in the right way, so when Nobuyo and Osamu were arrested and questioned by police why didn't they tell the police Juri was at risk/abused with scars from her parental household - the scene where you can see Juri recognises her parents aren't safe when she goes back kills me almost as much as when Shota calls Osamu "Dad", it all compounds the loss of what could have been if that makes sense (even if it wasn't all too healthy at all)

@DatzAdam

3 жыл бұрын

@@pomegranateemporium I saw the movie yesterday, and I had the same question. I think the reason why it wasn't mentioned is because there's no way they could prove it as the scars were gone by now. and even if they weren't the police might suspect that they're the ones who've been abusing her (in the eyes of police they are two criminals who'd committed several crimes already). and even if they did believe them, that still doesn't give them the right to take the little girl. she would've moved to a foster house at best.

@pomegranateemporium

3 жыл бұрын

@@DatzAdam that's very true, I didn't think of it in that way at all 💔

Very good movie. At first I got confused with the the relationship until it finally revealed.

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

it's so clever in how little it tells you- you have to work out a lot for yourself, which is sometimes difficult but makes the film feel like peeping in on conversations between people you don't know. That speed of exposition reminds me of Ozu.

Loved this movie, any movie recommendations please leave below in my comments :)

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

hey, glad you liked the movie! I'd recommend working through Koreeda's back catalogue, particularly Still Walking, Nobody Knows, Our Little Sister and Afterlife. I also have a soft spot for I Wish :) After that, try the films of Ozu, who also made slow, melancholy dramas with a lot of bittersweet humour (although Koreeda rejects the comparison). I think Taiwanese New Wave films also have a lot in common with Koreeda; try A Time To Live And A Time To Die by Hou Hsiao-Hsien and of course Yi-Yi by Edward Yang.

I found the ending disappointing, I guess I wanted a Hollywood ending. Then it would be chewing gum for the eyes. I have searched for review and other people's view point so I guess the film has stayed with me. It's on sky now

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

that sense of the film staying with you- for me that's such an important thing, and a sign of a good movie (even if you found the ending unsatisfying).

@ThomasFoolery8

4 жыл бұрын

Haha yeah. I was waiting for a scene where the little girl runs away from home to be back with her adopted family and they embrace and cry together. I was seriously looking forward to that really good cry haha. Felt sort of anticlimactic that I didn’t get to have it.

@TheBeatles..

4 жыл бұрын

@@ThomasFoolery8 ..re look at the last 10 seconds. Juri climbs on the red stool & looks over the balcony. She then smiles.. its a clue (maybe) that she see's something/someone.

I guess no one said it, but here it goes: parasite copied from this film. No im just joking relax. For real though, 2018 cannes film festival winner is this and in 2019 parasite? Coincidence? I don't know, but maybe he saw this as an inspiration to create parasite?

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

The lead time on developing a film is a lot longer than a year, even for a big dog like BJH; the original idea for Parasite came up during the shooting of Snowpiercer in 2013, according to wikipedia. That said, it's definitely possible there's some influence. The term 'social realism' was used a lot to describe parts of Parasite, and while that's a bit wide of the mark imo, the realism that Koreeda uses is well-known and part of a long tradition in Asian cinema (you can see it in parts of the Taiwanese New Wave, and before that in Ozu's work).

@spikespiegel6587

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I am in a rabbit hole of japanese films this quarantine and the idea of it bothers me that is why I commented on this video. Keep up the great work!

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

Kyle Jharry Santos no worries, enjoy your viewing! If you’re UK based (or you might be able to access internationally, not sure), the BFI has a whole programme of Japanese film releasing through to October, including Kurosawa and Ozu all the way through to Satoshi Kon and Takeshi Kitano.

@spikespiegel6587

4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks!

A very good appraisal, I cannot add to anything you have already said. I am turned off by much of Anglo Saxon cinema, too much emphasis on the arrogance of ego. This film moved me, watching it I had at times to stare at the ceiling to prevent myself from being convulsed with sobs. The acting too was superb and these characters will stay with me, as if I had known them and I had a played a small part in their lives. A great film, thanks for your appraisal.

@Indietrix

5 жыл бұрын

I think British drama (and a lot of American indie, although that comes with its own issues) is often over-focused on establishing clear stakes, heavily driven plots and understandable characters. I prefer more subtle stakes, a quieter and less focused approach to plot, and more sensory information with space for the audience to interpret- so in particular some Japanese filmmakers (Ozu, Kore-eda), Chinese-language (Wong-kar Wai, Hou Hsiao-hsien) and emerging European voices (Rachel Lang, Carla Simon). Glad you liked the film and my review, thanks for your thoughtful comment!

"Dad" =(

@Indietrix

3 жыл бұрын

:(

Nobuyo, though.

@Indietrix

4 жыл бұрын

😥

did aki commit suicide at last? and did the grandma really wanted her just for money from her parents?

Very depressing movie .. loved some scenes but didn't understand it fully. I watched it cuz it got the grand prix at Cannes festival but, it was so much disappointing, the director is brilliant that's obvious, but the story itself was so depressing without an obvious or even hidden purpose. What do you want to say? We are all humans and our emotions are controlling us? The government is corrupt and poverty eats people? Chosen family is better than original family? Could someone please give me an answer.

@Indietrix

3 жыл бұрын

I'm surprised you found the film depressing- I agree that there's lots of sad stuff in it, but I also think there's something really warm and valuable to be cherished in it, which is the sense of community, belonging and love that these disparate people find with each other (even if it falls apart by the end). As to what to make of it- I don't think there's a straight moral to take away, more just a set of thought-provoking characters and storylines to turn over in your mind. I'd recommend watching some other Koreeda films to make up your mind- After Life and I Wish are great and on opposite ends of tone.

@thailam

10 ай бұрын

For me the movie depicts what real life is, that it's not always easy, and sometimes is very harsh, for some people. People stick together just to be able to survive. The Shota family members are bad people in our society (shoplifting, cheating, selfish...) but the love they had was so much real. The movie does not give you any message after all, it just left you with thoughts, reflections about family, love. I enjoyed every moment, especially the death of Grandma. The moment on the beach was so peaceful, but definitely would be a changing event for life of those poor people. And that for me is life.

Will the family ever get back together.... Just watched the film and I really hope ..🥹