Street Thief (2006) Reviews

• great movie, hope it gets picked up

  azazual992006-12-23

  Hey anyone looking for a fresh look at a criminal movie, this is it. I saw this at the Tribeca Film Festival and I was blown away. The Q&A with director afterwords was great because people couldn't grasp what they just saw. It is so real its scary. Too bad this movie hasn't been picked up yet because it would do great both in box office and in rentals. I'm not sure if its still playing in festivals but if it is playing near you go see it. You wont be disappointed. The filmmakers follow a thief on his routine of scouting locations and prepping for the heist. The thief is aware of the camera and actually isn't always compliant with the filmmakers during interview sessions. In fact he doesn't even allow the filmmakers to go inside most places and actually film what he's doing. He is mic'ed so we only hear whats going on. This effect makes the film seem even more real. I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone but the one heist he does allow the filmmakers inside for is quiet amazing to watch. I remember being on the edge of my seat and usually I look around the audience to see everyone else,s reactions, being a filmmaker myself, but this scene I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. So again I strongly recommend this film to everyone. I believe this is one of the best films of the year and the best one I saw at Tribeca.

• Well-acted, well-filmed fake documentary

  UNOhwen2013-09-25

  I'm amazed at the number of people Lexington this film and think it portrays an actual thief doing real crimes. It isn't. Nor could it. If 'Kaspar' was as 'smart' as he constantly reminds the crew (and us), he'd be VERY dumb to have his face, filmed as well as filmed proof of his crimes. Saying that, I WILL say that unlike a lot (most) other fake, documentary-styled fiction, it is VERY convincingly made. As this is just a review, I'll only go so far as to say that some of the methods Kaspar used are not accurate (clever, yes - & a helluva lot better than either your typical 'crime' film, or - even what REAL thieves would do/use). Director/star Malik Bader gets credit - for making Kaspar a fully-dimensional character. Not a likable one, but, definitely believable.

• An interesting perspective on street thievery from the grimy and cold character, Kasper Karr

  Fitzgeraldm19892012-07-07

  I actually just stumbled upon this title on Netflix recently and watched it based on reviews there. I have to say Malik Bader is pretty hairy and not so pleasing to look at but I think this adds to the griminess of his character, Kasper Karr. The fact that it is filmed in a documentary style makes it even better in my opinion. In an interview I read online Bader talks about how the documentary style makes the crime more realistic and it also provides for a unique character study feel for the viewer. In doing this it is also letting the viewer in on the street thief "profession" and showing a side most I think including myself are not used to seeing. That is of course an inside view of a street thief from the thief perspective and not the police or law enforcement side. Another point Bader makes in the interview I read online is that most crime oriented films don't bring you the realism you crave. But this film definitely does with the play by play of Karr's routine and his cold nature. It could almost be likened to an episode of dirty jobs! I'll give it an 8 for its edgy perspective on thievery and for its somewhat character study feel.

• To catch a thief.

  morrison-dylan-fan2010-09-20

  As I was reading a message board recently,with people talking about what films they have been watching on DVD.Someone gave a long post about a film that sounded very interesting called Street Thief.When I went looking online for the disc,I,first checked on Amazon UK,whose search results showed that the film was not in the sites database. I kept searching online and it seemed that there was no where at all that I could get the film from.One day,after having given up finding the film a few weeks ago,I was looking on eBay at the auctions that were about to end.And,I almost jumped out of my seat ,when,I spotted that one person was selling the DVD (with five minutes to go!)I quickly placed my bid.I was thrilled that a few days later,when this incredibly made,gripping film arrived in the post. The plot: A documentary film crew are making a film about "profesinal" (though he hates being called that)street thief Kasper Carr.Unlike most street thieves,who mostly do very petty crimes,Kasper always aims big.With breaking into safes being his speciality.The crew follow Kasper as he plans several big robberies,which include robbing one of the main supermarkets and cinema in the area. Carr tells the makers that he needs time to make sure that his plans go well...As the documentary makers become certain that they are never going to hear from Carr again.They,suddenly get a voice message of Kasper telling telling them that he is offering them to come and film a robbery that he is going to do tonight at a local nightclub. When they start filming the safe cracking,Kasper seems strangely more nervous than he has ever been before.After the robbery having been successfully done.Kasper tells the film crew that his next plan is to do his biggest ever safe robbery... View on the film: Two things that stick out to me about finding information about the film,were the surprisings lack of detail about the film online,and-to my complete surprise,the main information that I found out was that the film is completely fictional!!.Also,that the director played the lead character in the film!. The editing by Nadav Kurtz (who was also one of the producers of the film)makes the fake "documenter" look completely real.With the finale safe-cracking being a complete edge-of-your-seat thriller.Kurtz also shows the changing relationship of Kasper and the film crew.Going from the crew shooting from a far distance,to being right in the thick of it during Carrs biggest robbery. Due to being in 95% percent of the film (though sadly not in the very surprising ending.)all the focus of the film is on the performance of director Malik Bader as Kasper Carr.Bader,impressively gives a very realistic,natural performance as Kasper.The performance is so convincing,that to me,I genuinely believed that Kasper Carr was in fact a real person.Malik also gives the film a great fast-moving rough-and- ready guerrilla-style documentary look.This includes,having some of the "film makers" wearing hidden microphones when trying to interview people,and the camera rushing and shaking,as the camera man tries to film each heist. Final view on the film: A very daring film,with an original screenplay,nail-biting editing and directing,and a truly captivating performance from Bader.

• Not a "rip off" of Man Bites Dog.

  where_is_my_mind092012-01-25

  While I know there are rabid fans of "Man Bites Dog" I cannot agree with a previous reviewers parallel between the two films. "Man Bites Dog" is a dark, and I mean, DARK satire on how society holds criminals up and how "normal" people (in this case the film makers) can get caught up in the moment. Not with this movie. The "film makers" approach the subject with cold calculated view. There are no scenes of children being murdered like in "man bites dog" in which the film makers just keep filming. In this "documentary" the film makers take a different path. While it's easy to judge the killer in "man bites dog" as a true sociopath the thief in "Street Thief" is a bit more complex. This is a guy with complete control over himself and his actions. To be quite honest I was (God help me) kind of rooting for the guy as he did his "scores" around the Chicago area. The guy is a likable jerk. He can be tolerated yet understood. Why? He's a criminal, plain and simple. He doesn't mug for the camera or brag about how he's King Salami and can't be stopped. He KNOWS the proverbial clock is ticking. Therefore the ending is a pleasant surprise that makes you want to watch it again.