Orson Welles has made films with his right hand and films with his left hand,” Francois Truffaut once wrote. “In the right-handed films, there is always snow, and in the left-handed ones there are always gunshots.”
Later that evening, the family decides to take in a five-year-old girl named Juri, who lives in their neighborhood with parents who are alternately abusive and neglectful. The group’s first dinner with Juri exudes warmth and a sense of interpersonal connection, with the various members taking protective interest in the little girl. (In a nice touch, Hatsue blows on Juri’s food to keep it from burning the girl’s mouth.) Kore-eda encourages viewers to disregard the fact that the family has just kidnapped a child—their behavior towards her is so loving that one excuses their crime, much like one forgives Osamu for having taught a boy to steal since their efforts keep several kind people from starving. It complicates matters somewhat that neither Juri nor Shota comes across as excessively cute. Kore-eda, one of the best directors of children in cinema, renders the characters as complex as the adults; one sees in their guarded behavior how poverty has made them prematurely tough, even if they’re too young to realize how tough they are. (Note how Kore-eda allows his child actors to appear fixated by small details and look away from the other players—with this strategy, he captures the enigmatic quality of children that most other filmmakers seldom bother to consider.)
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. In Japanese with subtitles. R, 121 min. Music Box, 3733 N. Southport, 773-871-6604, musicboxtheatre.com, $11.
