A Detailed Look into Hirokazu Koreeda’s Auteurship and What It Really Means to Be a Family.

This paper examines Hirokazu Koreeda’s auteurism through his focus on dysfunctional families. A documentarian background grants him a raw, naturalistic style in portraying family dynamics. His slow-paced narratives, featuring recurring actors and themes of love, loss, and unconventional bonds, are exemplified in Nobody Knows (2004), Our Little Sister (2015), and Shoplifters (2018). Koreeda reinterprets the “shomin-geki” genre, injecting darker tones and social commentary compared to Yasujiro Ozu’s influence. His unique use of mise-en-scène, including cyclical narratives and static shots, emphasizes time’s passage and life’s impermanence. By analyzing these recurring elements, this paper argues for Koreeda’s distinct auteurism, evident in his consistent style and exploration of the human condition through his portrayal of flawed family narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]