Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

The Thief Lord (2005)

Director: Richard Claus

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

This adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s kids’ story unravels within a pretty Venetian setting and involves ‘Oliver Twist’-inspired child thieves, a long-nosed roof-top-flitting Peter Pan figure and a magical merry-go-round with the power to reverse or advance the ageing process. The convoluted plot centres on two orphans on the run from their cantankerous uncle and aunt. They hook up with the Thief Lord (Rollo Weeks) and spend most of the film evading their relatives’ hired private dick before a wooden wing belonging to said merry-go-round leads towards a predictable fantasy finale. The story’s dull, the dialogue’s empty, the performances are pretty crummy, the editing’s slipshod, the score’s bombastic, and for some reason everyone speaks with an unmistakably British accent – except for one extra, a maid, who answers the door with a genuine Italian accent. What’s that all about? Most disappointing.

Author: Derek Adams 2006-05-23 10:49:14

Time Out London Issue 1866: May 24-31 2006

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


The Thief Lord

Cast & crew

Director: Richard Claus

Producer: Richard Claus

Cast: Caroline Goodall, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Carter, Robert Bathurst, Aaron Johnson, Jasper Harris, Rollo Weeks, George Mackay, Lathaniel Dyer, Alexei Sayle, Bob Goody, Geoffrey Hutchings full cast

Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Children's

Duration: 110 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.