This review may contain spoilers
From the first frame I was sucked in and couldn't get up till I finished watching. The cinematography is excellent and every scene invokes a distinct, raw feeling inside you as you get deeper into the rabbit hole of poverty and start rooting for this odd family - your first mistake because that's what will break your heart. I know a lot of people compare this with Parasite and sure while the whole poor and strange family unit is there but Parasite is very absurdist and bleak through and through while for the most part Shoplifters is genuinely upbeat providing you with a false sense of security until the rug gets pulled out from under your feet. Because you keep learning more about the characters right down to the last frame. So the sadness you feel in Parasite is also of an existential depressing nature where in Shoplifters its the sadness of loss and grief that feels personal.
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