3/5 stars
Hirokazu Koreeda’s best films demand audiences read between the lines to grasp what he is trying to convey. The Japanese director’s fascination with surrogate families is hinted at succinctly in films such as Distance (2001) and Shoplifters (2018); his interest in exploring the malleability of truth drives The Third Murder (2017) and Monster (2023).
It is perhaps unsurprising that he would be inspired by the “sheep in the box” sequence in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, where the leading character declares the best painting of a lamb to be one that is hidden and unseen.
