"Thief Family" with the title of the Palme d'Or and the popularity of Hirokazu Kore-eda's past works have attracted the attention of many Japanese-loving audiences.
However, under the fame, the movie experience and expectations have a big gap, such as a fish in the throat, or spit out quickly.
The first is the rhythm of the film. Admittedly, Japanese movies are known for their soothing rhythms and attention to detail. It is Kore-eda's directing style, and you can add another word. His films often reflect the ups and downs of the characters' inner activities through the accumulation of family chores, such as washing dishes, eating, washing dishes, folding clothes, and other seemingly daily actions.
In the first 30 minutes of "Thief Family", a large number of low-light and music-free images are unbearable to watch. These images do not promote the development of the plot, but they are more similar to showing a certain emotion of the director, which is often common in the experimental films of film school students.
However, in Kore-eda's debut film "The Illusion of Light", it is indeed such a film style. As for "The Illusory Light", Kore-eda himself is not satisfied and rarely mentions it.
Thief Family 2018
The Illusory Light, 1995
Since the film reflects the bottom of Japanese society, it is expressed in a different way than ordinary people in terms of makeup, set and lighting, behavior, and action.
This kind of shooting method is like using a top-of-the-line large-aperture lens to shoot the residual flowers and willows. Although the light and shadow of the lens are beautiful, the overall image makes it difficult to get a beautiful feeling.
Even if it is the bottom of the shooting society, Kurosawa's performance methods in "The Lower Layer" and "Heaven and Hell" are more in line with the aesthetics of ordinary people.
A cramped room
From the plot point of view, in the end, Xiang Tai recognized Ah Zhi as his father, which was also prominent, which was inconsistent with the previous plot explanation. Shota tells Aji that the grandfather of the grocery store will not let Yuri steal anything more, and that Shota peeks at Yaji's Mimi at the beach, indicating that Shota has begun to grow up, has her own thoughts, and begins to reject Aji's life of stealing. Until finally in the fruit shop deliberately let people find out, so that the whole family broke the situation exposed to the sun, in fact, has broken with the family.
Finally, when it was confirmed that he was in the hospital, Ah Ji and the others were ready to start fleeing and abandon themselves, and Shota's psychology was naturally unable to linger, which could be seen in his attitude when he waited for the car.
Shota and Aji
Sakura Ando's performance was outstanding
Admittedly, "Thief Family" still maintains the usual rigor of director Eda in production, and Nobuyo, played by Sakura Ando, is also quite outstanding.
Moreover, the current Japan is no longer the Japan when Akira Kurosawa filmed "Zi Sanshiro", nor the Japan when Junya Sato filmed "The Hunt", or even the Japan when Uncle Fukuyama made "The Dedication of Suspect X".
But can the little bit of humanity in such a low-level deformed family reflect the social situation of contemporary Japan? Maybe it can only be said to be a matter of opinion.
However, as a fan of Hirokazu Kore-eda and director, we really don't want to see that "Sea Street Diary" and "Non-stop" are the culmination of Director Ede.