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Movies / On DVD / The Thief
The Thief

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The Thief (1997)

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88 %
Tomatometer

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Reviews Counted: 24

Fresh: 21

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: A young boy desperately in need of a father figure is lured and bullied into actions he knows are wrong. A woman experiences a bitter blend of love and fury. And a forceful, utterly ruthless man is... A young boy desperately in need of a father figure is lured and bullied into actions he knows are wrong. A woman experiences a bitter blend of love and fury. And a forceful, utterly ruthless man is able to alter their lives forever. [More]

Starring: Vladimir Mashkov

Starring: Vladimir Mashkov

Director: Grigori Chukhrai

Director: Grigori Chukhrai

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 27, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Thief

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
04/27/07
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/05/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/25/03
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a superb film in the classic style of screen storytelling, at once intimate and epic, possessed of lyrical beauty and suffused with that mixture of warmth, suffering and rueful humor so characteristic of Russian films.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Philipchuk is absolutely endearing as the young Sonya, and Mashkov is powerful as the duplicitous con.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Thief is one in a long line of competent Eastern European movies that evoke the hardships of the Second World War II effectively but not exactly inspiringly.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner

[A] clever allegory about the death of Stalinism in post-Second World War Soviet Union.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

[Stealing] the show is the eight-year-old Philipchuk, whose wide eyes register awe, puzzlement and misery with a conviction not seen since Salvatore Cascio in Cinema Paradiso.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine

The powerful persona that is evoked by Mashkov, a Russian stage actor and romantic star of cinema, makes the melodramatics more convincing.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The Thief, Russian director Pavel Chukhrai's new film, is both a simple story simply told and an uneasy political fable.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gemma Files
eye WEEKLY

Beautifully photographed by Vladimir Klimov and utilizing Victor Petrov's strikingly authentic set to resemble a railway car of the 1950s, The Thief provides us with a broad sweep of Russian everymen as well as its principal performers.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/01/00
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

There is more to this picture than just an affecting story; for those who care to look, there's plenty of symbolism.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As dramatically compelling as it is heavily metaphorical...

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As mentioned, the payoff to this isn't exactly surprising, but the scenes that precede it are very good, thanks to Chukhrai's suspenseful plotting and convincing dialogue, as well as the terrific cast.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

...The Thief is also a reminder of just how exhilarating and satisfying a good tragedy can be...

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

...compelling, great-looking...

comment Comment
01/01/00
John Hartl
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...every bit as brilliant as its reputation suggests and is the feel-bad movie of the month, to boot.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies
 
 
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