Shoplifters

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Shoplifters

R

Released Nov 23, 2018

2h 1m

Crime

Drama

Adventure

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

230 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty and a penchant for petty theft. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.

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Critics Consensus

Understated yet ultimately deeply affecting, Shoplifters adds another powerful chapter to director Hirokazu Koreeda's richly humanistic filmography.

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Amy Nicholson

FilmWeek (LAist)

A film that just grows and grows and grows. It seems very quiet, but you are absolutely hooked.

Sep 13, 2019

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Shubhra Gupta

The Indian Express

[Shoplifters] is a film edged by despair, and yet is life-affirming. Families may disintegrate, but love keeps us ticking over.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 11, 2019

Full Review

Tom Long

Detroit News

Writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda fills the film with grace notes, humor and fine observations, circling and filling out each character while leaning more on innocence than corruption.

Jan 4, 2019

Full Review

Toba Singer

culturevulture.net

The actors, young or old, transform themselves fully to make what some may regard as their “unexamined lives” worth living, worth recounting, and for observers, worth admiring for their internal fortitude, honesty, and resulting sagacity.

Feb 25, 2025

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JD Duran

InSession Film

Hirokazu Kore-eda is one of my favorite directors working today and he did not disappoint with Shoplifters.

Aug 7, 2024

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Calum Cooper

Source (Scotland)

You feel like you’re watching the lives of real people as the story grows and sprouts. It makes the smaller moments of bonding, such as a trip to the beach, all the more charming. Yet it also makes the eventual truths all the more shocking.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 14, 2024

Full Review

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Sam N

Typical Kore-eda—slow, calm, and quietly intriguing. Shoplifters gently pulls you into a makeshift family, only to unravel a darker truth beneath the warmth. The twist creeps in, never loud, just unsettling. It makes you wonder: are laws and morality always right? Maybe love’s messier but somehow more honest. Thought-provoking.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/21/25

Full Review

Gustavo R

A family of shoplifters adopts a little girl that’s being neglected. This movie is cute and sad at the same time. Has glowing reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Got a nod for best foreign film at the Oscars so we checked it out. While the story is interesting, no spoilers but I didn’t like the ending. But it does leave you thinking which is what’s a good movie would do 🍿🍿🍿🍿/5 on Prime

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/17/25

Full Review

M7AMD A

nothing special about the movie and i feel like I have watched this story many time before and this one doesn't add anything new, I also didn't like the acting at all, I don't know why asian actros and actress tend to be over reacting to the point I cringe a bit

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/15/25

Full Review

Lars N

Slow but constantly developing into new, surprising territory. There's such a strange mix of tenderness and love, tragedy and sorrow a play here, that is genuinely rare to see. Stuck with me afterward

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/08/24

Full Review

Gortee U

I like how they manage to have rolecosters of emotions and still keep attaching to the movie even after some months later i cant think of any probelms whit this movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/25/24

Full Review

Gitansh G

5 star scale is not enough

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/19/24

Full Review

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Hirokazu Koreeda

Director

Lily Franky

Shibata Osamu

Sakura Andô

Shibata Nobuyo

Mayu Matsuoka

Shibata Aki

Kirin Kiki

Shibata Hatsue

Jyo Kairi

Shibata Shota

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Shoplifters: Trailer 1

2:00

Shoplifters: International Trailer 1

1:38

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Synopsis

On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty and a penchant for petty theft. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Producer: Kaoru Matsuzaki, Hijiri Taguchi
Screenwriter: Hirokazu Koreeda
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: AOI Pro, Fuji Television Network Inc., GAGA
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content and Nudity)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Adventure
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 23, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.3M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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