Review of Shoplifters (2018) by Keanex — 10 Jan 2022

Is it wrong to draw comparisons to Parasite? Both center around poor families that are ultimately trying to find their place on this planet, but end up in significant trouble. Obviously it's a loose connection, but one that came to mind. First things first, I adored the nature of the relationships between all of the characters. They felt genuine and sweet, even if it ended up to be an absolute travesty. The caring of the abused girl, the hectic but loving overall family feeling, it was cozy. Secondly, the story unfolds softly and throughout, there are clear views into the troubles surrounding each character and the full exposure of them at the end was pretty shocking. I didn't lose my jaw to the floor, but there was some things that I initially didn't fully catch, such as the grandmothers granddaughter being the reason why she was being paid. I still don't get the ""stole the husband"" part, I'm guessing killed by accident? I'll have to look that up. Anyway, the point I'm trying to get at is the information is present, but not forced to the forefront assuming the viewer is too dumb to notice, and not too subtle as to hide them in the weeds. It's a great balance of drip feeding these bits of unraveled story. The tragedy of it all is Juri, who ends up back with her neglectful and abusive parents.

Lastly the cinematography was mostly awesome. There were some excellent shots. Even at worst the cinematography was good. Everything seemed very well thought out. What a good movie.