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On the podcast this week, Steven and Sean are, um, kidnapping kids and stealing so much stuff from our local grocers? That sounds pretty bad. We\u2019re talking all about it in this week\u2019s episode about Hirokazu Koreeda\u2019s film from 2018, Shoplifters.

Yeah, there\u2019s a kidnapping that happens here. Would it help at all if I told you that the titular family at the heart of this story took in a young girl because she was being neglected and abused at her home? And also that she\u2019s with a family that clearly loves her a whole lot? I hope it will help because that\u2019s all I\u2019ve got.

Look, this is a film full of gray areas. Hell, the entire film is a gray area. This family isn\u2019t exactly what it appears to be. There\u2019s a lot of stuff going on under the surface. All of it is surprising. Some of it is a little troubling. A few moments might even make you gasp. Whoever would have guessed this film would turn out the way it did after looking at its poster? Check out the link to its IMDb page down in the links area to see what I mean.

There\u2019s something to be said about the love that\u2019s shared between family members, especially if it\u2019s a family you make and not just one you\u2019re born into. When you choose whom you love and spend your time with, it can mean just as much as a family to which you have a direct relation. Some might argue that it can be a stronger bond, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019d disagree with that view.

This film has a story that\u2019s filled with murky decisions made for tough reasons. It\u2019s no wonder that it won the freaking Palme d\u2019Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar. It\u2019s rare to find a film with such complex depth to it, and when you do you\u2019d better give it all the accolades it very much deserves.

Since watching Shoplifters, it\u2019s stuck in our minds. It\u2019s sneaky that way. It gets inside you and just doesn\u2019t want to let go. It\u2019s not the cheeriest movie ever made\u2014we\u2019re not going to lie about that\u2014but it\u2019s safe to say that it\u2019s an important film. It\u2019s a work of art that demands your attention, your emotions, and your critical thoughts. It\u2019s a lasting masterpiece.

(Recorded on April 26, 2021)

Links to Stuff We Mentioned:

Shoplifters - IMDb

Shoplifters trailer - YouTube

Hirokazu Koreeda - IMDb

Robert Redford - IMDb

The Sting - IMDb

Heat - IMDb

Parasite - IMDb

Avengers: Infinity War - IMDb

Little Miss Sunshine - IMDb

Ocean\u2019s Eleven - IMDb

Cannes Film Festival - Wikipedia

Dexter - IMDb

Shoplifters - Rotten Tomatoes

The Farewell - IMDb

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