Shoplifters // The Time Image

Hirokazu Koreeda, 2018, 93 mins

On the margins of Tokyo, a family survives through petty theft and playful grifting. They've managed to scrape by, but when their son is arrested, reality crashes back in.

Instead of driving the story through action and reaction, director Hirokazu Kore-eda grounds the film in the quiet rhythms of daily survival. The film beautifully captures the quiet cycle of memory and belonging.

The Time Image celebrates narrative deconstruction and alternative approaches to filmmaking, showcasing independent and guerrilla-style cinema that challenges conventional storytelling.

Named after French philosopher Gilles Deleuze's concept of the "time image," the series draws from his distinction between two modes of cinema. While the "movement image" propels viewers through cause-and-effect narratives where action drives the story forward, the "time image" asks viewers to dwell in moments, experience duration directly, and engage with memory, contemplation, and the gaps between events. In time image films, characters often observe rather than act, and meaning emerges through temporal layering rather than plot progression.

Previously known as Mumblecore Madness, the series has been reframed through Deleuze's philosophical lens. While "mumblecore" suggested a specific aesthetic, The Time Image better captures our broader focus.

Featuring selections from various countries and eras, The Time Image invites audiences to embrace cinema that resists easy resolution and celebrates the richness of human connection.