“Shoplifters” (Manbiki Kazoku – Original title) – Japanese Film Fest

This Japanese Film Festival movie is sponsored by the Virginia Tech Department of Japanese Studies. It is free and open to the public.


A family of small-time crooks take in a child they find outside in the cold.

A Japanese couple stuck with part-time jobs and hence inadequate incomes avail themselves of the fruits of shoplifting to make ends meet. They are not alone in this behaviour. The younger and the older of the household are in on the act. The unusual routine is about to change from care-free and matter-of-fact to something more dramatic, however, as the couple open their doors to a beleaguered young girl. The reasons for the family's habit and their motivations come under the microscope.