On Wednesday 12 December, seven months after its consecration in Cannes, Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) by Kore-Eda Hirokazu will be brought to audiences throughout France.
On May 19, during the Closing Ceremony, the Japanese director was awarded the Palme d'or by the President of the Jury, Cate Blanchett, on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière.
At the end of the press screening in Cannes, the critics unanimously hailed the director's 13th feature film, acclaimed for its subtle incisive look at the intimacy of the family scene and beyond, at Japanese society, as an example of "perfection" . For its part, the Jury expressed its praise for the film's grace, elegance, acting and the depth of the staging.
In 2013, Kore-Eda Hirokazu garnered the Jury Prize at Cannes with Like Father, Like Son,
and in 2004, Yuuya Yagira's performance in Nobody Knows earned the lead the Best Male Actor award. This therefore marks a third Cannes award for the director who, claiming both the heritage of a Mikio Naruse and the kinship of a Ken Loach, "is the crowning glory of this generation of Japanese filmmakers, in the footsteps of the great protesters: Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura" (Thomas Sotinel).
In the Festival's history, this is the fifth Palme d'or awarded to a Japanese film after Gate of Hell by Teinosuke Kinugasa (Grand Prix, 1954), Kagemusha by Akira Kurosawa (1980), and The Ballad of Narayama (1983) and The Eel (1997) directed by Shohei Imamura.
Since then, the film was released on June 8 in its country of origin where it was took just three days to top the national box office charts. At the end of August, it was chosen to represent Japan at the 2019 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. In San Sebastian, in September, Kore-Eda was the first Asian director to receive the prestigious Donostia Prize for his contribution to world cinema.
Having been selected for and awarded prizes at several international festivals, the film has just been nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes 2019.
by KORE EDA Hirokazu
► In cinemas throughout France from 12 December 2018.