To some viewers, “Shoplifters” would probably feel like a long movie (two hours and one minute) and is, arguably, slow-moving. If you’re looking for a thriller, or just to have some fun, this will likely not be your movie. You won’t find many major rises or falls (except, of course, when the entire family is arrested). It is not a depiction of the “American Dream;” you won’t find a hardworking character moving up the social ladder through hard work. It is also not a satire; you won’t find mockery of capitalism. It is the story of the lives of a lower class family that depends on shoplifting. It is the little things that matter in this film. These details make the movie chillingly realistic and intricate. Centered on a family in the bottom of society united by their crimes, the movie uses subtle elements to reconstruct its viewers’ opinions on right and wrong.

The family in the movie relies on and is united by crime. Shoplifting has been their means of living for some time, but things start to change when they bring another girl, Yuri, back to their home. The movie begins with a father, Osamu, and son, “4 ban-san,” coming home from a shoplifting session at a grocery store. They find Yuri (Miyu Sasaki), a primary school girl, left in the cold on the balcony of her house, and take her home to a small stone house that has five people living together. The five people already in the family are Osamu (Lily Franky), Nobuyo (Sakura Ando), 4 ban-san (Sosuke Ikematsu), Granny (Kirin Kiki) and Aki (Mayu Matsuoka), who is the granddaughter of Granny. Initially worried about being charged as a kidnapper, Osamu’s supposed wife, Nobuyo, insists on sending Yuri back. But the family becomes Yuri’s protectors after they find bruises on her arms.

Director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s brilliance is fully showcased in the movie. He does not select what he wants you to see to lead you to his conclusion, but he lays out a full picture in front of you and leaves the judgements to you. In these two hours and one minute, you live through days and nights with the family. Once you arrive on your own judgement of the family, the climax shatters all your prior understanding.

In the climax, viewers will find themselves shuddering as they find out shoplifting is not the only crime associated with the family. There are lies, hidden murder, stolen identities, bribes, theft of pension and even the covering up of a dead body.

“Shoplifters” will be coming to theaters November 23, 2018. Prepare yourself to sit through a long night but be ready to be left speechless, challenged and perplexed. It may not have the perfect happy ending you are looking for, but the point of the movie is not its ending.