Hirokazu Koreeda: “Yes, a family is interesting. You can get a lot of drama in the conflicts there. It’s like the sea. It seems calm, but inside there is conflict.”
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Hirokazu Koreeda touches on real-life issues in his films. They emphasise how we connect with people and how our experiences shape these connections in unexpected ways. His films evoke emotions in us for they are honest with real resentment and real reconciliation, and the accompanying stressors we experience with those we’re closest to.
Hirokazu Koreeda is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He was born in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. Like his mother, Koreeda adored film from a young age. When he graduated from Waseda University’s Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences in 1987, Koreeda worked as an assistant director on documentaries for television in independent Japanese television company TV MAN UNION, INC. He then went on to direct and made his first television documentary, Lessons from a Calf, in 1991. Japanese drama Maborosi was his debut as a feature film director.
Some of Hirokazu Koreeda’s remarkable films are Nobody Knows that won Best Film and Best Director award at the Blue Ribbon Awards, Still Walking that obtained Best Director award at the Asian Film Awards, and Shoplifters that earned the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar nomination.
In Shoplifters, Hirokazu Koreeda highlighted many hidden truths in society.
The first being that every child deserves parents, but not all parents deserve children. Juri “Lin” was physically abused by her biological parents and left out in the cold where Shota and Osamu found her. After hearing that Juri’s parents never wanted her, Nobuyo and Osamu decide to take her in permanently. It can be seen throughout the film that Juri has received more love from Nobuyo and Osamu than from her own parents. When Juri is finally returned to her real parents after the police investigation, she is still neglected and unwanted.
Secondly, while Aki thought that her grandmother loved her and accepted her, it was not true. Her grandmother only wanted to receive money from Aki’s parents, so she asked Aki to move in together with her. This emphasises that not everything we know about our family is the truth and that even families hide secrets from one another.
Hirokazu Koreeda mentioned that he grew up with multiple family issues and still has issues after marriage. These complications that he went through inspire the way he makes his films. Many of his films talk about hidden people of society and difficult relationships within families.
He is one of my favourite film directors because of how raw and honest his films are. He does not create films to critic or praise, but to show the audience what happens in real life from different points of view. Another reason is how he does not give his child actors any scripts such that the delivery would be more natural. I love how unscripted the films feel because the adult actors’ reactions are genuine. His films always manage to make me feel seen and heard.
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References:
Brian T. (2018, November 23) Shoplifters. Roger Ebert. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shoplifters-2018
CAROL’s WORLDS. (2019, February 25) SHOPLIFTERS (2018) — My rating: 8/10. https://carolsworlds.wordpress.com/2019/02/25/shoplifters-2018-my-rating-8-10/#respond
Elliott K. (2021, February 11) EVERY HIROKAZU KOREEDA MOVIE RANKED. High on Films. https://www.highonfilms.com/all-hirokazu-koreeda-movies-ranked/
Film4. (2017, November 21) Hirokazu Kore-eda: “I’ve learned to value ordinary life. And I still have a wish to portray that.” Medium. https://medium.com/@Film4/hirokazu-kore-eda-on-like-father-like-son-455c0c14c4c3
Wikipedia. (2022, June 29) Hirokazu Kore-eda. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirokazu_Kore-eda
