"“Shoplifters” is not a traditional narrative by any means. It is more an “observational” fiction film, in the same way we call certain documentaries ‘observational’. Each character has a trajectory that is followed, but until the very end, when there is a sudden dramatic change that unravels their fragile ties, there is little conflict between them. Instead we are let to enjoy this extraordinary meditation on what is the true meaning of family and love. Each character is drawn so precisely and yet we come to understand that they are a random family, or a chosen family, or a shoplifted family. When their fabric is finally torn apart, we know that their blood families and their future families will be so much less than what they created before. The film is full of beautiful metaphors, not the least, the insistence that food be part of nearly every scene. The importance of food as nourishment and love and pleasure is shown in glorious ways, least of all a wet, sticky scene in the middle of summer where two of the characters slurp down cold noodles only to end up in a long forgotten sexual embrace."