万引き家族 (aka Shoplifters) (2018)

With the assistance of his young son (Kairi Jo), a father (Lily Franky) shoplifts to help his family subsist. After a successful shoplifting spree, he and his son rescue a little girl (Miyu Sasaki) in the freezing cold and invite her home with them. Written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, this Oscar nominated movie (best foreign language film) and winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival pushes us to reexamine the definition of family and of parenthood in a most unusual way. At first, I was repelled by this criminally inclined poverty ridden family that took advantage of others.  But as the movie slowly moved on, I realized how judgmental I was and the humanity of those living on the fringe of mainstream society revealed itself to me. As the movie shows us, a father or mother is more than just a biological connection. As the film suggests, if we could choose our family rather than exist in the biological bubble we were born into, would we be better off? Superb performances including the two child actors (Jo and Sasaki) among the best child performances I've seen. With Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka and Kirin Kiki.