HOW TO STEAL A DOG

(2014) One of my favorite films seen in 2017 opens with a plucky (yeah, I used "plucky") little Korean, Ji-so, who is trying to fit in at school while hiding the secret that she, her little brother, and mom are all homeless, living out of her father's old pizza delivery van since the family went bankrupt and dad left home. Ji-so's mom is trying her best to hold onto a job that will enable her to keep the kids in a good school, while moving the van to a new location whenever their situation is close to being found out by the authorities; it's a tough life as Ji-so tries to keep hidden from everyone, until a classmate follows her "home" and instead of judging her the girls become best friends. But what Ji-so longs for most is a home; a home to have a party in for her upcoming birthday that she can invite her whole class to, like any other little girl - and a flyer on a telephone pole, advertising a local bigshot's dog gone missing, gives Ji-so a brilliant idea: she and her friend will lure away and hide dogs from rich people, wait for a reward to be posted for them, then miraculously "find" the dogs and return them to their owners ... all to raise the down payment for Ji-so's new house! After some scouring around town, Ji-so finds the perfect dog, and his perfect owner: a former boss of Ji-so's mom's, a cranky rich lady who owns a high-end cafe (that her unscrupulous nephew runs, only because he hopes to inherit it one day) and owns a dog she treats better than any human being, including the nephew. The girls' initial attempts at dog-napping are laugh-out-loud funny (and go awry, even after careful planning), but eventually the goal is achieved ... and that is when all heck breaks loose, when a shifty pizza delivery boy, a homeless man with missing fingers, the rich lady's crooked nephew, and Ji-so's annoying little brother all get in the way of the girls' already questionable plot. How I love this film, a  drama with a screwball comedy wrapped around it that had me weepy by the final scenes. I've said it before, and will say it again: I wish they made movies like this, that so touch your heart, on this side of the Pacific. (not rated)  10/10 stars