Bop (The Thief)

The Thief is a Russian-French co-production, Written and Directed by Pavel Chukhrai. It was very well received upon release in 1997, with best foreign film nominations in both the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Set in 1952, six-year-old Sanja (Misha Philipchuk) has led a troubled life, one that began by being born without a father, in the mud, on the side of a road. He and his Mother, Katja (Ekaterina Rednikova), are on a train to nowhere when they meet Tolyan (Vladimir Mashkov), a soldier in a very smart uniform.

The naive Katja is swept off her feet, and after a quickie in the passenger compartment they depart at Tolyan’s stop as a family. They rent an apartment and all is going peachy until Sanja and Tolyan begin to clash. Sanja refuses to acknowledge Tolyan as his father and has been neglected by his Mum since Tolyan came on the scene. He often finds himself locked out in the corridor while his Mum and her lover are inside getting to know one another a bit better. Tolyan eases the tension by buying gifts, then food, followed by an entire banquet for the occupants of their building, and Circus tickets for everyone! Must’ve been a good payday? But no, Katja is suspicious. How is Tolyan affording all this stuff?

Katja and Sanja find themselves accomplices to theft, unwittingly at first, but although she openly disagrees with his crimes she is unable to leave. Soon, Tolyan begins to involve the boy in his escapades, with unfortunate results.

This is a gorgeous film, with amazing performances, particularly from young Philipchuk as the boy. Rednikova is stunningly beautiful and entirely believable as his mother. The cinematography by Vladimir Klimov is fluid and dream-like. I couldn’t speak any more highly of this film, you’ll just have to see it for yourself.

The cast includes:

Vladimir Mashkov
Yekaterina Rednikova
Misha Philipchuk
Amaliya Mordvinova
Lidiya Savchenko
Anna Shtukaturova
Olga Pashkova
Anatoli Koshcheyev
Lyudmila Selyanskaya
Viktor Bunakov
Natalya Pozdnyakova
Yevgeni Popov
Yuliya Artamonova

This film is set in 1946 and introduces the Western viewer to a slice of life in the Soviet Union after the War.