ordinary life vs. extraordinary circumstances

His films like 'Shoplifters' and 'Nobody Knows' reveal profound humanity and moral complexity emerging from the constraints and struggles of ordinary, marginalized lives.

His socially conscious realism in films like 'I, Daniel Blake' exposes how systemic crises thrust everyday people into extraordinary hardship and ethical dilemmas.

Her works including 'Nomadland' and 'The Rider' document how ordinary Americans face extraordinary economic displacement while maintaining dignity and resilience.