(C) 2020 “Theatre” Production Committee
10 recommended movies starring Mayu Matsuoka, an actress who embraces her role and walks alongside her!
6. Shoplifters (2018) Director: Hirokazu Koreeda 120 minutes
This film won the Palme d'Or, the highest award at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, and is a historic piece in Japanese cinema history. It is also the work that brought Matsuoka to international fame.
A peaceful family (Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Kirin Kiki, Mayu Matsuoka, Kairi Jyo) lives in a house in the downtown area of Tokyo. However, they are not a real family. They make a living by shoplifting, and one day, they kidnap a girl (Miyu Sasaki) who is being abused by her parents and welcome her into their "family", and little by little, their hidden past is revealed.
While the film shares a setting with "Parade" (2010), which is set in a shared house, and "Reason" (2004), which depicts a pseudo-family, the focus is on social issues such as "poverty" and "inequality." Like Kore-eda's previous works "Like Father, Like Son" (2013) and "Our Little Sister" (2015), the film depicts "a non-blood related family and love" in a sharp, warm and painful way.
Matsuoka plays a woman who is a member of a family and usually works at a sex shop. While she finds comfort in her current life, she is a symbol of the anxiety and loneliness of modern people who are sometimes tormented by loneliness. She accurately portrays this character, which is difficult to balance. Her approach of "subtracting" or trimming away acting rather than "adding" is in perfect sync with Director Koreeda's worldview. Matsuoka's vague transience actually amplifies the melancholy. The direction in which her "connection" with a customer at the sex shop, played by Ikematsu Sosuke, brings out the theme of love is also excellent.
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