Hirokazu Kore-eda: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque, in partnership with JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, is proud to present an in-person retrospective celebrating acclaimed filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. A leading voice in contemporary Japanese cinema, Kore-eda is known for his deeply humanistic films that explore family, memory, and the complexity of human relationships. With an elegant visual style and naturalistic approach to performance, his work has earned international acclaim, including the Palme d’Or at Cannes for SHOPLIFTERS. This retrospective highlights some of his most essential works and celebrates his newest critically acclaimed television series, ASURA.

Kore-eda’s cinema asks essential questions about belonging, connection, and the social structures that both sustain and constrain us, all while maintaining a deep compassion for his characters’ struggles and triumphs. In STILL WALKING, Kore-eda examines the complex familial dynamics that accompany themes of grief, as he delicately interrogates the traditional family structure by normalizing re-marriage and providing space for his characters, across various generations, to discuss the evolution of such values in contemporary Japanese society. Over the past three decades, Kore-eda has established himself as one of world cinema’s most consistently insightful observers of modern Japanese society. Working across documentary and fiction, he has crafted intimate narratives which reveal emotional truths with quiet power and precision. With his debut narrative feature, AFTER LIFE, he formally emulated the documentary approach to filmmaking, allowing subject-protagonists to reflect on their fictional lives, culminating in a profound meditation on the power of the camera in preserving human life and individual memory.

Often focusing on unconventional family structures and the spaces between people, his contemplative stitch together observed moments of everyday life that accumulate into profound emotional experiences. His most seminal idea regarding unconventional family structures culminates with SHOPLIFTERS through a presentation of family not being defined by blood relations. This was first explored with LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. With such films, Kore-eda has cinematically responded to Yasujiro Ozu’s portrayal of traditional familial bonds by normalizing adoptive parent-child relationships and reaffirming what we consider true familial dynamics. In a similar vein, NOBODY KNOWS shows the audience a representation of unconventional motherhood when a young adolescent girl fills the role of the mother for her younger siblings. This retrospective offers a rare opportunity to experience Kore-eda’s works on the big screen and gain insight into his artistic process through in-person conversations with the filmmaker himself.

Co-presented by JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles