THE THIEF Movie Review

Vor

In 1952, Katya (Ekaterina Rednirkova) and her six-year-old son Sanya (Misha Philipchuk) are traveling across Russia by train, struggling for food and shelter in the difficult post-World War II era. On board, Katya meets a handsome young officer named Tolyan (Vladimir Mashkov) and is immediately entranced, but soon learns that far from being a military hero, Tolyan is merely a thief—a common criminal. Finding that she doesn't have the strength—or the will—to leave him, she drinks to dull her sense of guilt as she gradually evolves into his accomplice, while at the same time naively hoping to protect her son from the long-term, corrupting effects of his influence. The specific metaphorical aspects of writer/director Pavel Chukhrai's portrait of the relationship between a dishonest tyrant and his helpless subjects (little Sanya is both frightened and impressed when Vladimir, who wears a tattoo of Stalin, claims to be the dictator's son) is the least subtle aspect of this otherwise tightly structured, gripping drama about the natural human tendency toward psychological dependence. Visually dynamic and featuring superb performances, The Thief, which was a 1998 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, is a potent and memorable cautionary fable about the dangers inherent in placing blind faith in any form of authority.

NEXT STOP … Prisoner of the Mountains, A Friend of the Deceased, The Mirror

1997 (R) 110m/C RU Vladimir Mashkov, Ekaterina Rednikova, Misha Philipchuk; D: Pavel Chukhrai; W: Pavel Chukhrai. Nominations: Academy Awards ‘97: Best Foreign Film; Golden Globe Awards ‘98: Best Foreign Film. VHS NYR