The story is touching and will grab your heart, and the acting is terrific. I was hooked on reading when my 2nd grade teacher gave me The Boxcar Children, and this movie is a modern Japanese version--about people who protect their humanity by living below the radar. Japanese film has a "lower depths" tradition, but this one is much warmer and more engaging than any previous movie about "outsiders." I remain puzzled by Aki's story--I missed something there--but it did not detract from the beauty of the movie as a whole. Just about perfect.
Review of Shoplifters
