Mess in Venice
'The Thief Lord'
Dir Richard Claus. Starring Jim Carter, Vanessa Redgrave
Based on a bestseller, The Thief Lord retraces the adventures of Bo and Prosper who run away from their malicious guardians to Venice because their mother had once talked of it. They get picked up by a masked fourteen year-old who takes them across the city to his hangout where a gang of orphans cohabitate. Between befriending detectives, they set about reconstructing a merry-go-round that has the power to age or bring youth. The acting is theatrical and the editing has strange moments.
The orphans are all clad in H&M and Zara; the actors all seem to be wearing stage make-up, the graphics are despicably lo-fi and nineties and the dry-ice is just an added minus, worthy of a party magic show. However, this is not the sort of film to be seen with a critical eye used to multi-million dollar Harry Potter-esque CGI. If you let yourself fall into the over-dramatised play of actors, you start to notice where the film goes right.
There are some beautiful shots of Venice, with neon lights and graffiti. The story is quaint and it is not just the magic that makes it magical — nobody is as mean as they first appear to be. Though it is perhaps more television material than big screen, after watching it you will feel like a child again.
25th May 2006