Leo D.M.J. Aurini - Movie Review： The Thief (1997) 2 of 3

00:00:00.000 Thank you.

00:00:30.560 The Thief Part 2, Plot and Character Analysis.

00:00:35.520 Now, the actual plot of this movie is very simple.

00:00:40.320 And this kind of goes along with what I was saying about Russian literature previously,

00:00:44.020 that it doesn't need a complicated plot because it's not about the plot.

00:00:50.360 There's really only three characters worth mentioning.

00:00:54.440 There's the main character, but not the protagonist.

00:00:57.960 It's the young boy, Sonia.

00:01:00.760 He's the narrator of the film, but he's not the one directing events.

00:01:06.400 There's his mother, Katya, a single mother because Sonia's father died shortly after World War II from injuries sustained therein.

00:01:16.240 And then there's Toljan, his erstwhile stepfather, her pretend husband, the protagonist of the film,

00:01:26.460 whom you're constantly torn back and forth, is this man a monster or not?

00:01:32.140 The story follows the three of them.

00:01:36.500 They first meet on a train.

00:01:39.260 Katya and Sonia are just traveling on the train.

00:01:42.420 They have nowhere to go.

00:01:43.860 They have no family to support them.

00:01:46.820 Sonia was given birth to in a muddy ditch when she was walking between towns some years ago.

00:01:54.120 He's about eight years old, I believe, in the movie.

00:01:58.780 They're just traveling when they encounter this handsome soldier,

00:02:04.440 this very confident and debonair, Toljan,

00:02:08.220 who, within minutes, within hours of meeting the woman, meeting Katya,

00:02:16.620 has her in the back of the car making love to her.

00:02:21.460 So when they arrive in the first town,

00:02:24.940 they wind up renting a room,

00:02:27.940 and he says, like, listen, my army pay is a little bit back right now,

00:02:32.640 but I'm here with my wife and son,

00:02:34.140 even though they just met about six hours ago or maybe 12 hours ago on the train.

00:02:40.780 They move in, they rent a room,

00:02:43.180 and pretend that Sonia is his son and Katya is his wife.

00:02:49.320 Then after a week or so,

00:02:51.740 even though this guy, he didn't have the paperwork for this,

00:02:53.780 but he had a soldier's uniform, he looked like a respectable man,

00:02:56.720 and after all, he had a wife and child, didn't he?

00:02:59.440 No scam artist would have that.

00:03:01.080 He buys them all tickets to the circus

00:03:05.280 and then goes back to the property to clean out all the silverware

00:03:09.760 and steal anything of value and jump a train to the next city.

00:03:14.920 Sonia happens to catch him doing all of this,

00:03:20.600 and so he brings along Katya and Sonia.

00:03:24.080 And this happens again and again.

00:03:26.580 This is his modus of operandi.

00:03:27.940 Move to a new town, pretend to be a soldier,

00:03:30.880 rent a room without paying for it,

00:03:33.240 and then, once everybody trusts you,

00:03:37.300 steal the silverware and move on.

00:03:42.780 Throughout all of this,

00:03:43.960 you see Sonia being very torn

00:03:46.860 between desperately wanting a father figure

00:03:50.020 and yet hating this father figure

00:03:52.720 for the way he treats him

00:03:54.760 and the way he treats his mother.

00:03:58.260 Finally, at the end of the film,

00:04:00.960 he winds up, as an older boy,

00:04:03.820 when he's about 14 or so,

00:04:05.820 he winds up finding Toljan again

00:04:07.740 after he's been to prison,

00:04:09.540 after he's been up to Siberia,

00:04:11.160 and he's still running the same old scams,

00:04:13.420 but now he's shabby and burned out.

00:04:16.060 And he shoots him.

00:04:17.160 And that's where the story ends,

00:04:20.180 the very bleak,

00:04:21.960 nothing,

00:04:23.480 nothing,

00:04:25.120 nothing,

00:04:25.780 that Sonia no longer knows

00:04:29.820 what to believe in.

00:04:32.540 He can't believe in Toljan.

00:04:34.820 His mother died pursuing Toljan,

00:04:37.660 doing whatever he wanted.

00:04:39.860 And Toljan,

00:04:40.620 who claimed that Stalin was his father.

00:04:44.880 What's this young boy,

00:04:46.400 alone in the world,

00:04:47.380 supposed to believe now?

00:04:49.160 That his mother died

00:04:51.740 pursuing a man that didn't love him

00:04:54.040 or love her.

00:04:56.380 And that he ultimately killed that man,

00:04:59.200 but felt nothing,

00:05:00.560 felt no satisfaction.

00:05:02.300 He was just numb to the whole thing.

00:05:04.720 And Russia,

00:05:05.800 the orphanage that he lives at,

00:05:09.860 what's he supposed to feel

00:05:10.900 about any of that?

00:05:15.380 And I think this is really

00:05:17.340 what we find with the manosphere.

00:05:19.080 The whole,

00:05:20.240 there is a bit of a nihilistic edge

00:05:22.020 to the whole thing.

00:05:23.200 A desperation for fatherhood

00:05:25.320 of trying to look at

00:05:28.220 what masculinity used to mean

00:05:30.520 and rebuild ourselves

00:05:32.220 along those lines.

00:05:34.160 I trust you've watched it.

00:05:38.120 I hope you have.

00:05:39.700 Absolutely amazing film.

00:05:42.420 I think the best way

00:05:43.320 to take this all apart

00:05:45.140 is to look at the characters

00:05:47.120 one by one.

00:05:48.200 Look at Sonja,

00:05:49.380 who's the narrator.

00:05:51.300 Katya,

00:05:52.260 who is very passive

00:05:55.020 throughout the whole thing.

00:05:57.260 And finally, Toljan,

00:05:59.340 and ask what sort of man

00:06:00.600 he really is.

00:06:01.560 So first,

00:06:03.540 let's start with Sonja.

00:06:06.460 You know,

00:06:06.720 there are some

00:06:07.380 psychological studies

00:06:09.540 that I don't have handy,

00:06:11.100 but I was reading about them

00:06:12.060 that even as infants,

00:06:15.880 girls are more likely to cry,

00:06:17.560 more likely to demand attention,

00:06:19.700 whereas infant boys

00:06:22.340 are far more nervous.

00:06:24.860 They don't complain as much.

00:06:26.260 They put up with more.

00:06:27.380 And they're more afraid.

00:06:30.480 And if you have any nieces and nephews,

00:06:33.260 you've seen this,

00:06:35.300 that little girls

00:06:36.660 have this insane confidence about them.

00:06:39.000 They understand their importance,

00:06:41.800 their innate value

00:06:42.920 to all of society,

00:06:44.620 whereas young boys

00:06:46.080 are still very afraid.

00:06:48.120 They are desperate for love,

00:06:49.460 but they are very cautious

00:06:51.420 because they don't feel

00:06:53.380 like they deserve this.

00:06:55.120 And you see this in Sonja.

00:06:57.840 He is so desperate

00:07:00.280 for a man to look up to.

00:07:02.180 Early, he talks about

00:07:03.320 having these visions,

00:07:05.220 these dreams

00:07:06.040 of seeing his father,

00:07:07.860 whom he never saw in real life.

00:07:09.580 His father was dead

00:07:10.320 before he was born.

00:07:11.920 But he keeps seeing these flashes.

00:07:13.720 He needs this man

00:07:15.220 that cares about him,

00:07:17.060 that will protect him.

00:07:18.000 And eventually,

00:07:21.520 eventually he falls

00:07:23.480 for Tolzian

00:07:24.740 as his new father.

00:07:27.980 Even though the man

00:07:29.160 is frequently abusive,

00:07:31.460 although he's also frequently

00:07:32.660 kind in his own way,

00:07:36.000 any sort of love

00:07:37.060 for a young boy,

00:07:38.620 any sort of

00:07:39.960 masculine acceptance,

00:07:42.400 masculine approval,

00:07:44.380 will be enough for them.

00:07:46.300 You know,

00:07:47.360 whether it's a kid

00:07:49.020 growing up in the ghetto

00:07:49.900 that joins a gang,

00:07:51.160 or in this case,

00:07:53.220 Sonja falling,

00:07:54.820 falling,

00:07:56.680 not in love,

00:07:57.960 but, you know,

00:07:59.760 getting that

00:08:00.320 masculine father figure

00:08:02.100 from a career criminal.

00:08:04.240 This is something

00:08:08.340 that all of us

00:08:09.740 experience.

00:08:11.640 And there's one

00:08:12.240 particular scene

00:08:13.280 that really

00:08:14.080 just nailed home

00:08:16.540 the vulnerability

00:08:17.800 of being a small boy.

00:08:20.380 This was an

00:08:21.060 excellent scene

00:08:22.380 to include in the movie.

00:08:23.980 And it's where

00:08:25.060 Tolzian

00:08:25.880 takes him

00:08:27.360 to the

00:08:28.820 bathhouse,

00:08:30.420 like the old

00:08:31.860 Roman style.

00:08:32.860 This is Soviet Russia,

00:08:34.360 and I guess

00:08:34.780 they didn't have

00:08:35.300 a lot of internal

00:08:35.920 plumbing at the time.

00:08:37.840 So this was something

00:08:38.760 where all the men

00:08:39.480 would go

00:08:39.920 to have their

00:08:41.560 weekly shower.

00:08:44.640 So Sonja's there,

00:08:46.040 and there's all

00:08:46.760 these nude men

00:08:47.740 all about,

00:08:48.980 all,

00:08:49.640 like,

00:08:50.000 of all ages,

00:08:51.400 fats,

00:08:52.260 you know,

00:08:52.720 muscular,

00:08:53.860 et cetera,

00:08:54.100 but they're all men.

00:08:55.260 And his young

00:08:56.940 boy's frame

00:08:58.020 really stands

00:08:59.500 in stark contrast

00:09:00.740 to all of that.

00:09:02.320 And any of you,

00:09:04.080 maybe,

00:09:04.440 like,

00:09:04.680 if you remember

00:09:05.360 seeing your father

00:09:06.100 naked when you

00:09:06.780 were a little kid

00:09:07.380 and how intimidating

00:09:09.260 that sheer masculinity

00:09:10.780 was,

00:09:12.140 it's very present

00:09:13.640 in this scene

00:09:14.320 where Sonja

00:09:15.860 looks around

00:09:16.640 and then grabs

00:09:17.900 some of the rushes

00:09:18.820 that they use

00:09:19.260 for scrubbing

00:09:19.980 and covers his

00:09:21.240 groin with it.

00:09:22.600 At which point,

00:09:23.700 Tolzian says to him,

00:09:24.780 you know,

00:09:25.500 don't worry about it,

00:09:27.320 you're a man too.

00:09:29.580 And he wants

00:09:30.680 to be a man.

00:09:31.280 He wants that,

00:09:31.800 he wants to achieve

00:09:32.900 that masculinity,

00:09:33.780 but he's very

00:09:34.460 afraid of it

00:09:35.960 at the same time.

00:09:38.340 You know,

00:09:38.560 this boy that grew up

00:09:39.800 without a father

00:09:40.700 is very afraid

00:09:42.120 of masculinity,

00:09:43.800 afraid of the,

00:09:45.280 the potential

00:09:46.040 violence

00:09:47.720 that is,

00:09:49.080 is innate

00:09:50.200 to the male form.

00:09:52.700 And that,

00:09:53.200 that brief scene

00:09:54.460 just perfectly

00:09:55.740 captures that

00:09:56.820 in my eyes.

00:09:58.120 The shyness,

00:09:59.240 the nervousness,

00:10:00.320 the,

00:10:00.600 the fear

00:10:01.540 that he feels

00:10:02.420 without a real

00:10:04.540 father,

00:10:05.080 although at that

00:10:05.620 point,

00:10:05.940 Tolzian is starting

00:10:06.840 to become a father

00:10:07.740 to him.

00:10:10.800 And finally,

00:10:11.620 there's that fear

00:10:12.440 that we all

00:10:13.540 have to overcome.

00:10:15.420 And this,

00:10:15.920 really,

00:10:16.560 becoming a man

00:10:17.460 is overcoming fear.

00:10:18.780 and early

00:10:21.200 in the scene,

00:10:21.960 early in the movie,

00:10:23.940 he's,

00:10:24.960 he starts

00:10:25.760 hitting Tolzian

00:10:26.600 because Tolzian

00:10:27.320 was hitting his mother.

00:10:28.960 He starts screaming

00:10:29.920 at him and hitting him

00:10:31.220 and Tolzian

00:10:32.720 hands him a knife

00:10:33.640 and says,

00:10:34.040 if you're going to do it,

00:10:34.940 do it right.

00:10:35.860 Here,

00:10:36.240 stab me.

00:10:37.420 And he

00:10:38.220 drops the knife.

00:10:41.480 Tolzian picks it up again

00:10:42.460 and says,

00:10:42.820 here,

00:10:43.100 stab me right here.

00:10:44.300 And this time

00:10:46.720 when he drops it,

00:10:48.140 he wets himself

00:10:49.180 and then runs

00:10:50.620 and hides

00:10:51.080 in the,

00:10:51.380 in the,

00:10:51.980 the washroom

00:10:52.740 to try and take

00:10:53.540 his soiled pants off.

00:10:57.020 And then towards

00:10:57.880 the end of the movie,

00:10:58.980 when he eventually

00:10:59.760 kills Tolzian,

00:11:02.200 it's while Tolzian

00:11:03.680 is taking a piss

00:11:05.320 by the side

00:11:05.920 of the railroad

00:11:06.560 that he's about to,

00:11:08.560 this guy that used

00:11:09.480 to dress as a soldier

00:11:10.560 to ride the railroad

00:11:11.520 is now dressed

00:11:12.200 like a hobo

00:11:12.880 and he's riding

00:11:13.960 illegally

00:11:14.560 on the cattle car.

00:11:19.800 So you,

00:11:21.220 there's this theme

00:11:22.260 of overcoming

00:11:24.220 that fear

00:11:24.920 of challenging yourself.

00:11:27.040 And this can be,

00:11:27.880 this can be as simple

00:11:28.880 as the,

00:11:29.920 the fear

00:11:31.060 of approaching women

00:11:32.120 as a young man.

00:11:33.840 Quite frankly,

00:11:34.700 guys that are

00:11:35.280 14,

00:11:36.180 16,

00:11:37.020 18 even

00:11:37.920 can be

00:11:38.880 absolutely

00:11:39.560 terrified

00:11:40.580 of girls.

00:11:42.340 It's,

00:11:42.900 it's shocking

00:11:44.020 how universal

00:11:44.780 this fear

00:11:45.380 of being socially

00:11:46.720 rejected is.

00:11:49.920 But that's,

00:11:50.780 that's ultimately

00:11:51.540 how you

00:11:52.280 become a man

00:11:53.700 is,

00:11:54.820 is you overcome

00:11:55.720 the fear,

00:11:56.760 the fear of social

00:11:57.700 rejection,

00:11:58.380 the fear of masculinity,

00:12:00.000 the fear that

00:12:00.880 prevented you

00:12:01.960 from complaining

00:12:02.660 about your problems

00:12:03.700 when you were young.

00:12:04.820 you take ownership

00:12:06.120 of your life.

00:12:08.300 You take,

00:12:08.780 you no longer care

00:12:10.000 what anybody else

00:12:11.420 thinks about you.

00:12:13.740 And it's a very

00:12:14.840 cold,

00:12:15.820 bleak place

00:12:16.440 to be,

00:12:17.420 which is what we

00:12:18.380 see at the end

00:12:19.080 of the movie

00:12:19.580 with the

00:12:20.100 nothing,

00:12:21.420 nothing,

00:12:22.760 nothing.

00:12:23.200 that being a man

00:12:27.100 is about

00:12:27.980 being granite,

00:12:30.480 about being

00:12:31.120 self-possessed,

00:12:32.880 and about

00:12:33.660 containing that

00:12:34.820 capacity

00:12:35.420 for violence.

00:12:42.520 Next,

00:12:43.440 we have Katya.

00:12:45.440 Now,

00:12:46.340 it's interesting.

00:12:48.040 I always like

00:12:48.980 to read the

00:12:49.460 IMDB reviews

00:12:50.620 after I watch

00:12:51.840 a film.

00:12:53.040 And most people

00:12:54.540 interpret her

00:12:55.400 as a victim.

00:12:57.680 And certainly

00:12:58.580 in many ways

00:12:59.280 she was.

00:12:59.880 I mean,

00:13:00.080 here she is,

00:13:00.440 she's a single

00:13:01.000 mother,

00:13:01.580 her husband

00:13:02.660 is dead,

00:13:03.880 she's trying

00:13:04.460 to raise

00:13:04.920 this son,

00:13:05.540 and she gets

00:13:05.840 into an abusive

00:13:06.520 relationship

00:13:07.280 with Tolshin,

00:13:08.760 who's a career

00:13:09.780 criminal and

00:13:10.520 basically uses

00:13:11.620 her and her son.

00:13:12.940 Despite the

00:13:13.480 brief moments

00:13:14.020 of tenderness,

00:13:14.660 he's using them

00:13:15.360 the entire way

00:13:16.460 through.

00:13:17.500 And then she

00:13:18.020 winds up dying

00:13:19.320 when she has

00:13:20.180 his abortion

00:13:20.740 for him.

00:13:23.920 It's a tragic

00:13:25.140 tale.

00:13:27.160 And yet,

00:13:28.160 in certain ways,

00:13:29.400 Katya was

00:13:29.900 setting herself

00:13:30.620 up for the

00:13:31.320 story from

00:13:32.140 the very beginning.

00:13:34.080 Let's talk

00:13:34.700 about the

00:13:35.160 conception of

00:13:35.940 Sonia in

00:13:36.420 the first place.

00:13:38.580 She had

00:13:39.780 sex with

00:13:41.080 a soldier

00:13:41.700 during World

00:13:42.840 War II.

00:13:45.300 And I

00:13:45.720 think we all

00:13:47.160 know what

00:13:47.540 survival rates

00:13:48.620 especially for

00:13:49.560 the Russians

00:13:50.080 were in

00:13:50.800 that war.

00:13:52.100 They were

00:13:52.460 absolutely

00:13:53.800 terrible.

00:13:56.280 In my family,

00:13:58.160 I had a couple

00:13:59.020 of great-aunts,

00:14:00.160 both of whom

00:14:00.800 wound up

00:14:02.020 becoming old

00:14:02.580 maids because

00:14:03.440 they had

00:14:04.240 lovers who

00:14:06.460 died overseas.

00:14:08.300 Now,

00:14:08.780 neither of them

00:14:09.460 had children

00:14:10.220 with these

00:14:11.400 lovers.

00:14:11.740 It was a more

00:14:13.520 traditional

00:14:14.080 era.

00:14:15.940 But that's

00:14:16.820 the point.

00:14:17.880 Katya didn't

00:14:18.600 wait.

00:14:19.940 She wanted

00:14:21.660 to live in

00:14:23.100 the fantasy

00:14:23.700 world where

00:14:24.960 her husband

00:14:25.600 would be

00:14:26.100 coming home.

00:14:27.720 And so,

00:14:28.420 they had

00:14:28.860 sex.

00:14:29.160 They conceived

00:14:29.880 a child while

00:14:31.580 the war was

00:14:32.420 still ongoing,

00:14:33.800 which eventually

00:14:35.140 resulted in

00:14:37.200 her being a

00:14:37.940 single mother.

00:14:38.500 rather than

00:14:40.940 being realistic

00:14:41.820 and rather

00:14:42.360 than owning

00:14:42.940 herself and

00:14:43.700 owning her

00:14:44.400 own choices,

00:14:45.760 she was

00:14:46.160 living in

00:14:47.140 a fantasy.

00:14:48.440 She was

00:14:49.000 trusting the

00:14:49.680 universe to

00:14:50.420 sort everything

00:14:51.000 out for her,

00:14:52.180 to make sure

00:14:53.220 that her

00:14:54.000 husband came

00:14:54.720 back, that

00:14:55.180 she wouldn't

00:14:55.840 be adrift

00:14:57.300 with no

00:14:58.020 opportunity,

00:14:58.840 no close

00:14:59.380 family.

00:15:00.480 Furthermore,

00:15:01.660 the fact that

00:15:02.280 she risked

00:15:03.340 conceiving a

00:15:04.000 child with a

00:15:04.680 man when she

00:15:05.160 didn't have

00:15:05.720 any immediate

00:15:06.260 family to

00:15:07.080 really take

00:15:07.580 care of

00:15:07.980 her, the

00:15:09.000 fact that

00:15:09.320 she is left

00:15:10.060 on her own

00:15:10.660 and that

00:15:11.320 Sonia eventually

00:15:11.920 goes to an

00:15:13.560 orphanage,

00:15:14.860 again, this

00:15:15.320 shows this

00:15:15.700 lack of

00:15:16.180 preparation,

00:15:16.880 this lack

00:15:17.400 of self

00:15:17.980 ownership,

00:15:19.140 this wanting

00:15:21.160 the universe

00:15:22.340 to sort

00:15:23.060 itself out

00:15:23.700 for you.

00:15:25.100 Right from

00:15:25.840 the beginning,

00:15:27.140 we can see

00:15:27.760 her making

00:15:28.520 herself into

00:15:29.840 a victim.

00:15:30.360 the whole

00:15:37.340 time, she

00:15:38.820 is making

00:15:39.600 herself pray

00:15:40.520 and yet

00:15:41.980 she's also

00:15:42.560 preying upon

00:15:43.380 other people.

00:15:45.800 You know,

00:15:46.000 that's the

00:15:46.580 darker aspect

00:15:47.540 to single

00:15:48.040 mothers,

00:15:48.500 after all,

00:15:49.600 that they

00:15:50.540 rely upon

00:15:52.320 the kindness

00:15:54.440 of strangers,

00:15:55.820 the charity,

00:15:56.960 they even

00:15:58.240 presume upon

00:15:59.180 it.

00:16:00.600 And while

00:16:00.880 she, again,

00:16:01.820 she was a

00:16:02.260 widow, but

00:16:02.760 there's no

00:16:03.620 social safety

00:16:04.360 net whatsoever.

00:16:06.040 You know,

00:16:06.240 Russia had

00:16:06.640 just been

00:16:06.980 devastated and

00:16:08.080 communism wasn't

00:16:08.780 helping anything.

00:16:10.020 So she was

00:16:11.160 expecting, she

00:16:12.640 was entitled.

00:16:15.020 And so is it

00:16:15.600 any wonder that

00:16:16.400 she winds up

00:16:17.380 getting together

00:16:18.460 with a

00:16:19.460 career criminal

00:16:21.020 like that?

00:16:22.440 She wants

00:16:23.000 to use

00:16:23.520 others.

00:16:24.220 and so

00:16:25.940 she herself

00:16:26.700 winds up

00:16:27.220 being used.

00:16:29.320 And at the

00:16:30.000 very end,

00:16:30.460 we see the

00:16:32.280 terrible price

00:16:34.460 for all of

00:16:35.220 this.

00:16:37.580 There are

00:16:38.320 certain scenes

00:16:38.940 in the movie

00:16:39.480 where Toljan

00:16:41.300 slaps her

00:16:42.100 around,

00:16:42.960 where she

00:16:43.680 screams at

00:16:44.400 him,

00:16:44.640 you're a

00:16:45.000 horrible man,

00:16:45.840 you're horrible

00:16:46.300 for my son,

00:16:47.020 I don't want

00:16:47.560 you around.

00:16:48.100 And I

00:16:50.260 guess the

00:16:50.660 feminist

00:16:51.100 interpretation

00:16:51.680 of this is

00:16:52.500 that he's

00:16:52.900 controlling her

00:16:53.640 through violence.

00:16:55.800 Except,

00:16:56.500 how is he?

00:16:58.160 He's

00:16:58.600 pretending to

00:16:59.580 be a soldier,

00:17:00.840 and she

00:17:01.720 is going out

00:17:02.500 of her way

00:17:03.100 to help

00:17:03.580 cover for

00:17:04.240 him.

00:17:04.520 All she

00:17:04.900 needs to

00:17:05.240 do is go

00:17:05.840 to the

00:17:06.180 MPs,

00:17:06.940 and he'll

00:17:07.340 be arrested

00:17:07.840 on the

00:17:08.200 spot.

00:17:10.440 When she's

00:17:11.220 screaming at

00:17:11.860 him that I

00:17:12.260 hate you,

00:17:12.740 I'm going

00:17:13.020 to leave

00:17:13.460 you,

00:17:13.620 I want

00:17:13.840 you out

00:17:14.120 of my

00:17:14.360 life,

00:17:15.400 she doesn't

00:17:16.320 mean it.

00:17:16.760 She's

00:17:18.240 just saying

00:17:18.780 those things

00:17:19.560 to rationalize

00:17:21.200 staying with

00:17:21.880 him.

00:17:22.620 She wants

00:17:24.040 to stay

00:17:24.380 with him

00:17:24.660 because as

00:17:25.020 long as

00:17:25.420 she does,

00:17:26.360 she doesn't

00:17:26.860 have to make

00:17:27.280 decisions for

00:17:27.880 herself.

00:17:28.600 She doesn't

00:17:28.980 have to take

00:17:29.480 responsibility

00:17:30.040 for herself.

00:17:31.880 As long as

00:17:32.480 he keeps

00:17:32.980 stealing,

00:17:34.160 her and

00:17:34.540 Sonia will

00:17:34.940 be fed.

00:17:36.320 You know,

00:17:36.540 she doesn't

00:17:36.820 have to get

00:17:37.220 a job,

00:17:37.720 she doesn't

00:17:38.020 have to do

00:17:39.080 anything

00:17:39.320 difficult,

00:17:39.920 she just

00:17:40.160 has to get

00:17:40.540 slapped around

00:17:41.260 every once

00:17:41.760 in a while.

00:17:42.800 And in

00:17:43.140 exchange,

00:17:43.740 she yells

00:17:44.220 at him.

00:17:46.760 she's

00:17:49.720 the one

00:17:50.100 putting

00:17:50.780 herself

00:17:51.280 in this

00:17:51.920 scenario.

00:17:55.280 And

00:17:55.880 ultimately,

00:17:57.460 and this

00:17:58.000 really speaks

00:17:59.180 to the

00:17:59.620 whole

00:18:00.200 nature

00:18:01.500 of evil,

00:18:02.460 of pursuing

00:18:03.660 such a dark

00:18:04.300 route,

00:18:05.480 she dies

00:18:06.580 after

00:18:07.380 Tolshin's

00:18:08.100 been taken

00:18:08.540 to prison,

00:18:09.680 desperately

00:18:10.100 wailing

00:18:11.260 and

00:18:11.760 crying

00:18:14.180 as he's

00:18:15.000 sent up

00:18:15.340 to Siberia.

00:18:18.020 And then

00:18:18.920 she has

00:18:19.860 an abortion

00:18:20.400 for him.

00:18:25.180 The mistake

00:18:26.120 she made

00:18:26.500 with Sonia's

00:18:27.200 father was

00:18:28.460 a mistake,

00:18:29.120 but it was

00:18:29.360 a mistake

00:18:29.760 made out

00:18:30.140 of love,

00:18:31.100 and it

00:18:31.480 created a

00:18:32.080 child.

00:18:34.140 With

00:18:34.440 Tolshin,

00:18:36.040 her mistake

00:18:37.940 was one

00:18:38.860 of selfishness,

00:18:40.380 and it

00:18:40.800 resulted in

00:18:41.300 a dead

00:18:41.660 baby and

00:18:42.680 her own

00:18:43.080 death by

00:18:43.720 sepsis.

00:18:45.340 This is

00:18:48.800 what the

00:18:49.040 Bible means

00:18:49.640 when it

00:18:49.960 says that

00:18:50.420 the wages

00:18:50.820 of sin

00:18:51.600 are death.

00:18:53.120 That if

00:18:53.520 you don't

00:18:54.700 pay attention,

00:18:55.440 if you don't

00:18:55.880 own your

00:18:56.380 own life,

00:18:57.080 you are

00:18:57.620 headed down

00:18:58.300 the path

00:18:58.860 of destruction.

00:18:59.960 and finally,

00:19:04.600 let's

00:19:04.760 consider

00:19:05.060 Tolshin.

00:19:06.700 Tolshin

00:19:07.200 who dresses

00:19:07.940 like a

00:19:08.420 soldier,

00:19:08.920 who claims

00:19:09.320 his father

00:19:09.800 is Stalin,

00:19:11.400 and who

00:19:13.180 says he

00:19:13.520 really was

00:19:14.340 a soldier.

00:19:16.540 Well,

00:19:17.120 was he?

00:19:20.300 At first,

00:19:21.200 we're left

00:19:21.700 wondering about

00:19:22.540 this whole

00:19:23.080 topic,

00:19:23.960 because you

00:19:24.820 could certainly

00:19:25.280 see somebody

00:19:26.180 that was,

00:19:27.380 who knows

00:19:28.700 what they

00:19:29.640 saw on the

00:19:30.280 eastern front.

00:19:31.620 Maybe they

00:19:32.060 had to resort

00:19:32.580 to cannibalism,

00:19:34.020 the horrors

00:19:35.740 that the

00:19:36.340 Russians in

00:19:36.980 particular had

00:19:37.640 to go through

00:19:38.300 in that war.

00:19:40.260 Maybe it was

00:19:40.800 too much to

00:19:41.360 bear.

00:19:42.540 Maybe he

00:19:43.000 cracked.

00:19:44.060 Maybe he

00:19:44.420 was still,

00:19:45.280 maybe he was

00:19:45.920 a soldier,

00:19:46.800 and the whole

00:19:47.240 thing just

00:19:47.720 stripped so much

00:19:48.460 humanity away

00:19:49.200 from him,

00:19:50.020 that all he

00:19:51.820 has left is

00:19:52.600 violence,

00:19:53.140 is thievery.

00:19:55.060 He doesn't

00:19:55.620 know how

00:19:56.140 to really

00:19:57.320 trust other

00:19:57.940 people,

00:19:58.360 or really

00:19:58.620 form bonds

00:19:59.300 with other

00:19:59.700 people.

00:20:02.660 I don't

00:20:03.320 think this

00:20:03.680 was the

00:20:03.920 case at

00:20:04.260 all.

00:20:08.720 This is

00:20:09.340 the impression

00:20:09.860 he gives.

00:20:11.420 You know,

00:20:11.680 this is the

00:20:12.040 story you

00:20:12.700 want to

00:20:13.260 believe,

00:20:14.500 especially

00:20:15.060 when he

00:20:15.960 does something

00:20:16.500 kind.

00:20:17.860 Even when

00:20:18.420 he was,

00:20:18.980 when he

00:20:19.620 was holding

00:20:20.060 that knife,

00:20:21.740 when he's

00:20:22.080 giving that

00:20:22.480 knife to

00:20:23.020 Sonia and

00:20:23.500 saying,

00:20:23.840 stab me.

00:20:25.280 And then

00:20:25.660 after Sonia

00:20:26.540 pisses himself,

00:20:27.380 he comes

00:20:28.200 up and

00:20:28.420 says,

00:20:28.720 don't worry,

00:20:29.400 everybody's

00:20:29.960 pissed

00:20:30.160 themselves.

00:20:31.300 Everybody's

00:20:31.740 done that,

00:20:32.160 you don't

00:20:32.380 have anything

00:20:32.780 to be ashamed

00:20:33.380 of.

00:20:34.320 You'll want

00:20:34.980 to believe

00:20:35.500 it.

00:20:36.160 You'll want

00:20:36.880 to think

00:20:37.340 that he's

00:20:37.680 actually a

00:20:38.220 good guy,

00:20:39.380 that maybe

00:20:39.980 just something

00:20:40.520 terrible happened

00:20:41.440 to him and

00:20:41.840 it turned

00:20:42.180 him into

00:20:42.720 this thief,

00:20:43.420 because he

00:20:43.680 doesn't know

00:20:44.020 what else to

00:20:44.440 do with

00:20:44.700 himself now.

00:20:45.680 You'll want

00:20:46.320 to believe

00:20:46.800 all of that,

00:20:48.360 which is

00:20:50.300 exactly the

00:20:51.080 mistake that

00:20:52.100 Katya made.

00:20:53.020 Toljan is a

00:20:58.340 psychopath, and

00:21:00.740 you can see

00:21:01.100 this by just

00:21:01.520 how destructive

00:21:02.380 everything is

00:21:03.500 around him.

00:21:06.460 For instance,

00:21:07.440 giving Sonia the

00:21:10.860 knife.

00:21:12.000 Now, even

00:21:12.400 though he was

00:21:12.840 only an eight-year-old

00:21:14.100 boy, it was a

00:21:15.340 sharp knife, and he

00:21:16.140 didn't have a shirt

00:21:16.940 on, he didn't have

00:21:17.500 anything.

00:21:17.840 He could have

00:21:18.920 died from a

00:21:19.540 knife wound.

00:21:21.860 He wasn't doing

00:21:22.820 this because he

00:21:24.020 was self-sacrificing,

00:21:25.900 but because

00:21:26.620 psychopaths only

00:21:29.060 understand how to

00:21:30.140 relate to others

00:21:31.200 through violence.

00:21:34.060 The TV series

00:21:35.220 Hannibal is an

00:21:36.740 excellent examination

00:21:37.960 of a psychopath,

00:21:38.760 psychopath, and

00:21:39.220 again, for the

00:21:40.040 record, most

00:21:40.500 psychopaths are

00:21:41.300 not actually

00:21:42.080 violent, they

00:21:43.940 just don't have

00:21:44.480 any reason not

00:21:45.440 to be violent.

00:21:46.780 They're constantly

00:21:47.600 manipulative, and

00:21:49.140 they only understand

00:21:49.920 intimacy through

00:21:50.900 manipulation.

00:21:52.920 So all of the

00:21:54.080 intimate moments

00:21:55.120 that happen between

00:21:55.880 Sonia and

00:21:56.580 Toljan are

00:21:58.080 related to

00:21:59.060 violence in some

00:21:59.900 manner.

00:22:02.540 Sonia is getting

00:22:03.660 beat up by the

00:22:04.460 local kids, so

00:22:06.840 Toljan goes and

00:22:08.720 just absolutely

00:22:09.520 ruins the

00:22:10.920 dad that

00:22:11.900 Sonia throws

00:22:14.100 some rocks at

00:22:14.700 another kid or

00:22:15.300 something like

00:22:15.720 that, so the

00:22:16.120 dad shows up.

00:22:17.620 Toljan just

00:22:18.360 destroys him, and

00:22:20.180 then forces

00:22:21.220 Sonia to be

00:22:22.240 violent to one

00:22:23.220 of the other

00:22:23.660 kids, to keep

00:22:24.900 hitting him.

00:22:26.940 The knife

00:22:27.900 scene, again,

00:22:29.220 this is a man

00:22:29.980 that only

00:22:30.580 understands violence,

00:22:31.980 that only

00:22:32.500 understands the

00:22:33.300 zero-sum game.

00:22:34.760 He doesn't know

00:22:35.240 why he shouldn't

00:22:35.880 steal from

00:22:36.380 anybody else,

00:22:37.280 because why

00:22:38.020 wouldn't you?

00:22:39.620 The same with

00:22:40.420 the scenes

00:22:42.300 later on, where

00:22:43.800 he's using him

00:22:44.820 as a prop to

00:22:45.660 steal.

00:22:47.120 He only

00:22:47.920 understands

00:22:48.680 intimacy through

00:22:50.380 violence.

00:22:51.920 He doesn't

00:22:52.180 understand anything

00:22:52.900 but that, and

00:22:54.180 he's a lot like

00:22:55.200 Dr. Lecter in

00:22:56.060 that manner.

00:23:00.200 And finally, to

00:23:01.800 further support

00:23:02.500 this, let's ask

00:23:03.220 ourselves, does

00:23:04.460 anything that

00:23:05.880 Toljan did, does

00:23:07.620 that really serve

00:23:08.440 his ends?

00:23:11.440 So he meets

00:23:12.480 Katya and he

00:23:13.260 meets Sonia on

00:23:14.740 the train.

00:23:15.220 They're, at the

00:23:15.760 very beginning,

00:23:16.260 they're sharing a

00:23:17.460 booth together.

00:23:18.100 What does he

00:23:18.540 immediately do?

00:23:20.240 He immediately

00:23:21.340 seduces this

00:23:22.740 woman who's

00:23:24.240 already had a

00:23:25.000 child.

00:23:26.300 Now here, he's

00:23:27.260 this good-looking,

00:23:28.840 charismatic guy

00:23:29.880 that could really

00:23:31.060 get into, he

00:23:32.440 could do

00:23:32.740 anything with

00:23:34.100 himself.

00:23:34.640 He's intelligent,

00:23:35.860 cunning, he's

00:23:36.960 tough, good-looking,

00:23:38.380 charming, and

00:23:39.780 what does he do?

00:23:41.300 He fake-marries a

00:23:43.240 single mother and

00:23:44.940 then spends his

00:23:45.780 life stealing

00:23:46.800 silverware from

00:23:48.680 the lower

00:23:50.360 middle class.

00:23:55.640 He keeps doing

00:23:56.740 this until he

00:23:58.000 gets caught.

00:23:58.640 He keeps doing

00:23:59.280 the exact same

00:24:00.780 scam, pretending

00:24:01.680 to be an army

00:24:02.400 captain, and

00:24:04.280 that's what

00:24:04.600 eventually gets

00:24:05.300 him caught for

00:24:06.260 pretending to be

00:24:07.540 an officer.

00:24:10.920 He spends ten

00:24:12.060 years in Siberia,

00:24:13.420 and at the end

00:24:14.360 of the movie, he's

00:24:15.600 still running the

00:24:16.260 same scam, but

00:24:17.700 now it's pathetic.

00:24:19.040 Instead of dressing

00:24:19.700 like an officer

00:24:21.300 and a gentleman,

00:24:22.580 now he's dressing

00:24:24.420 like a hobo, and

00:24:26.080 the money he's

00:24:26.940 scamming is a

00:24:27.700 quarter of what it

00:24:28.480 once was, and it

00:24:30.160 winds up being

00:24:30.800 Sonia that kills

00:24:32.120 him in the end.

00:24:34.580 This evil bastard

00:24:36.100 didn't know what

00:24:37.780 he was doing with

00:24:38.780 himself.

00:24:39.660 He was just

00:24:40.360 manipulating constantly.

00:24:43.380 And so he gets

00:24:44.300 the single mother,

00:24:45.640 and he gets her son,

00:24:47.080 and oh, that's a

00:24:48.040 useful cover.

00:24:49.240 And then they catch

00:24:50.120 him when he's about

00:24:50.900 to run off by

00:24:52.260 himself, and he

00:24:53.800 just, okay, I'll

00:24:54.560 manipulate them some

00:24:55.360 more.

00:24:55.720 I'll keep them

00:24:56.240 around.

00:24:58.800 He occasionally

00:24:59.620 does try and

00:25:00.340 reach out in this

00:25:01.200 pathetic way that

00:25:02.160 psychopaths do, by

00:25:04.460 hitting his wife.

00:25:06.100 When she's yelling

00:25:07.220 at him, when Katya's

00:25:07.980 yelling at him, and

00:25:08.620 he's hitting her, that's

00:25:09.440 the only way he knows

00:25:10.260 how to be intimate.

00:25:12.340 And Katya, for her

00:25:13.420 part, because she

00:25:14.520 refuses responsibility,

00:25:16.140 that's the only sort

00:25:17.180 of intimacy she can

00:25:18.280 have.

00:25:19.060 But for both of

00:25:19.940 them, and it winds

00:25:20.580 up in death.

00:25:22.160 And finally, the

00:25:25.020 only person to

00:25:25.800 escape from this is

00:25:28.100 Sonia, even though

00:25:29.640 he doesn't realize

00:25:30.580 it, that he learned

00:25:33.420 all the right

00:25:34.280 lessons.

00:25:35.460 And it's a very

00:25:36.200 cold, bracing wind

00:25:39.020 of truth that he

00:25:40.620 got.

00:25:41.980 But ultimately, he

00:25:43.840 became his own

00:25:44.720 man.

00:25:45.440 He transcended

00:25:46.500 both of them.

00:25:48.040 He was still in a

00:25:48.880 bad situation, but

00:25:49.940 now he was in a

00:25:50.960 bad situation where

00:25:52.220 he could finally

00:25:53.180 take authorship on

00:25:54.520 things.

00:25:57.360 So in the third

00:25:58.300 part, I'm going

00:26:00.600 to be covering

00:26:01.200 the dark triad

00:26:04.340 and the scam

00:26:06.060 artist.

00:26:07.400 Irini out, folks.

00:26:20.960 See you next time,

00:26:36.920 blah.

Leo D.M.J. Aurini - April 23, 2015

Movie Review： The Thief (1997) 2 of 3

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