Early Masterpieces: Maborosi and After Life
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s feature debut Maborosi (1995) depicts loss and renewal through the story of a woman and her son after she loses her husband in an incident, winning a Golden Osella at the Venice International Film Festival. After Life (1998) presents a distinctive vision of the world after death. Its premise of choosing one most precious memory from life to carry forever expresses the boundary between life and death with a unique sensibility.
Nobody Knows: A Masterpiece Incorporating Social Issues
Inspired by the real Sugamo child abandonment incident, Nobody Knows (2004) sensitively portrays the lives of children abandoned by their mother. Lead actor Yuya Yagira became the youngest-ever winner of the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. Kore-eda’s method of combining professional and nonprofessional actors and drawing out improvised performances was highly praised, and the film is recognized as a masterpiece that brilliantly unites social questions with pure cinematic expression.
Shoplifters: Cementing His International Reputation
Shoplifters (2018), a work distilling Kore-eda’s distinctive authorship, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Through people without blood ties living as a family, it incisively questions poverty and the nature of family in contemporary Japan. Powerful performances by its distinguished cast helped it generate a major response in Japan and abroad, revealing contradictions between legal and social correctness and human kindness.
New Challenges: The Truth and Broker
After winning the Palme d’Or, Kore-eda released The Truth, set in France, in 2019, and Broker, set in South Korea, in 2022. He continues to explore the universality of family and human relationships across linguistic and cultural barriers. His creative work across borders has further increased his importance in world cinema.
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