The Thief (1997 film)
| The Thief | |
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| Directed by | Pavel Chukhrai |
| Produced by | Igor Bortnikov Sergei Kozlov Igor Tolstunov |
| Written by | Pavel Chukhrai |
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| Music by | Vladimir Dashkevich |
| Cinematography | Vladimir Klimov |
| Edited by | Marina Dobryanskaya Natalya Kucherenko |
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Release date
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Running time
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96 minutes |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
| Budget | $2 million |
| Box office | $1.1 million (US) |
The Thief (Russian: Вор, Vor) is a 1997 Russian drama film written and directed by Pavel Chukhrai. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Nika Award for Best Picture and Best Directing. Also winner of the International Youth Jury's prize, the President of the Italian Senate's Gold Medal, and the UNICEF Award at the 1997 Venice Film Festival.
The film is about a young woman, Katya (Yekaterina Rednikova), and her son Sanya (Misha Philipchuk) who in 1946 meet a veteran Soviet officer named Tolyan (Vladimir Mashkov). Katya falls in love with Tolyan, who turns out to be a professional criminal, but who also becomes a father figure to Sanya.
Katya, a poor and desperate widow, and her young son Sanya try to survive in the post-World War II Soviet Union during the late 1940s through the early 1950s. While on a train, the two meet a handsome, rakish officer, Tolyan, who seduces the mother. Katya stays with Tolyan, who pretends to be her husband and acts as a stepfather to Sanya, who is at first highly distrustful of the man, resenting his presence and authority. There are several allusions to Hamlet.
Through his good looks, apparent generosity, and his status as a war veteran, Tolyan charms his way into a variety of lucrative positions. Katya and Sanya both realize the harsh and increasingly abusive nature of the new head of their family, but, although alarmed, neither mother nor child seems willing to leave the man. The extent of Tolyan's love for his new family remains ambiguous throughout the film and provides one of the more compelling elements of the story.
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