DIRECTOR

Kore-eda Hirokazu "Shoplifters"

CREW

Cinematography: Kore-eda Hirokazu, Shinji Ito

#koreeda

Film Festivals & Awards

Galaxy Competition 1990 - Distinction Award

Duration/Release

47min. / Broadcast in Japan: March 12, 1991

Synopsis

In 1990, a bureaucrat Yamanouchi Toyonori committed suicide. He was responsible for compensating victims of Minamata Disease, a neurological disorder caused by methyl mercury poisoning. Despite his whole career on welfare, Yamauchi had to refuse the compensation as the representative of the government and became the target of fierce reproach from victims and media. By contrasting with another death of a woman who struggled with illness, Kore-eda examines the life and conviction of the bureaucrat and questions the system of social security.

Introduction

Kore-eda started his career as a TV director in 1987.　The introducing three programs were directed for TV documentary series NONFIX in 1991 and 1992, works at the age of 29 and 30. Kore-eda himself speaks that these documentaries had been his starting point of his creatives. “However…” and “Where Has All the Pollution Gone?” show his keen sense of observation over societal issues. In “Lessons from a Calf”, we see children through the eyes of Kore-eda, showing the influence to his later filmography well-known for the style of filming child actors.　Available only for theatrical rights.