''The Thief'' (russian: Вор, ''Vor'') is a 1997 Russian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by Pavel Chukhray. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. History The award was established i ...

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 Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

. The film is about a young woman, Katya (

Yekaterina Rednikova Yekaterina Valerevna Rednikova (also Ekaterina Rednikova: russian: Екатерина Валерьевна Редникова, born May 17, 1973) is a Russian theatre and film actress, best known for her roles in films including '' The Thief'' an ...

), and her 6-year-old son Sanya (Misha Philipchuk), who, in 1952, meet a veteran

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

officer named Tolyan (

Vladimir Mashkov Vladimir Lvovich Mashkov ( Russian: Владимир Львович Машков; born 27 November 1963) is a Soviet and Russian actor and director of cinema, known to Western audiences for his work in the 2001 film '' Behind Enemy Lines'' and 2 ...

). Katya falls in love with Tolyan, who turns out to be a small time criminal, but who also becomes a father figure to Sanya.

Plot

Katya, a poor and desperate widow, and her young son Sanya try to survive in the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Soviet Union during 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 ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

. Through his good looks, apparent generosity, and his status as a war veteran, Tolyan charms his way into a variety of situations that enable him to rob people. 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 seem 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.

Cast

as Tolyan *

as Katya *Misha Philipchuk as Sanya (as Misha Filipchuk) *Amaliya Mordvinova as the doctor's wife *Lidiya Savchenko as Baba Tanya *Yuliya Artamonova as the engineer's wife *

Yury Belyayev Yury Viktorovich Belyayev (russian: Юрий Викторович Беляев; born 28 August 1947) is a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actor. He has received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (1995) and the USSR State ...

as Sanya (at 48 years old) *Dmitri Chigaryov as Sanya (at 12 years old) * Anton Tabakov (as A. Tabakov)

Reception

Critical response

''The Thief'' has an approval rating of 88% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

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, based on 24 reviews, and an average rating of 6.99/10.The website's critical consensus states,"As beautiful to look at as it is thought-provoking, ''The Thief'' interrogates Europe's past through the experiences of a family in crisis".

Awards

Won

* Sozvezdie 1997: ** Best Actor -

1997: ** Prize of the International Youth Jury - Pavel Chukhray ** President of the Italian Senate's Gold Medal - Pavel Chukhray **UNICEF Award - Pavel Chukhray * Open CIS and Baltik Film Festival 1997: ** Best Actor -

** Best Director - Pavel Chukhray ** Prize of the Distributors Jury - Pavel Chukhray *

s 1998: ** Best Actor -

** Best Actress - Ekaterina Rednikova ** Best Director - Pavel Chukhray ** Best Film - Pavel Chukhray and Igor Tolstunov ** Best Music - Vladimir Dashkevich * Young Artist Award 1998: ** Best Young Performer in a Foreign Film - Misha Philipchuk

Nominated

1997: ** Golden Lion - Pavel Chukhray *

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

1997: ** Best Film - Igor Tolstunov * Golden Globe Award ** Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film - Russia *

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

1998: ** Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film - Russia *

s 1998: ** Best Cinematographer - Vladimir Klimov ** Best Costume Designer - Natalya Moneva ** Best Production Designer - Viktor Petrov ** Best Screenplay - Pavel Chukhray ** Best Sound - Yuliya Yegorova *

Goya Awards The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...

1999: ** Best European Film - Pavel Chukhray

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thief (1997 film), The 1997 films 1997 crime drama films Russian crime drama films 1990s Russian-language films Films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era Films set in 1952 Films set in 1958 Films set in 1994 Films set in Russia Films shot in Yaroslavl Oblast