[sho_hn]

Shoplifters was a recent international success and is maybe the most accessible. My favorites of his are After the Storm and Maboroshi, though. All of them feature wonderful characters and quiet adult moments.

On the arthouse circuit, I think he's best known for After Life, which is a bit more challenging (honestly: I found it a bit dull) but worth biting into.

Do you know that pang of melancholic joy-and-regret you feel after you've had a wonderful day and you know no matter how much you and the others involved try, you can probably never quite recreate that magic a second time? Grateful for the memory you'll always have, yet at the same time sad? That's how his movies feel to me, where I'm often both happy and sad I've seen them. It's pretty damn great when a movie can do that.

[the_af]

Interesting. I think I've only watched After Life and indeed found it very dull (and for the record: I enjoy slow-paced Japanese movies with "quiet adult moments"). I actually thought the premise of the movie wasn't well explored at all.

So maybe I would enjoy his other movies, if you liked them!

[flobosg]

I can second the Shoplifters recommendation.