''The Thief Lord'' is a 2006

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Richard Claus. The screenplay was written by Richard Claus and Daniel Musgrave, based on the 2000 novel of the same title, by German author Cornelia Funke. It was a joint production of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., Future Films Limited, Comet Film, and Thema Production and is distributed by Warner Bros. The DVD was released on 14 March 2006 and the one-disc edition includes a theatrical trailer that ran in theatres in Europe and Mosca's cartoon from the film by itself. The film follows two recently orphaned brothers, Bo (Jasper Harris) and Prosper ( Aaron Johnson), dumped in the care of a cruel aunt and uncle, who escape their impending separation by running off to Venice. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic masked leader, the Thief Lord (

Rollo Weeks Rollo Percival Loring Weeks (born 20 March 1987) is a British businessman and former actor. He is best known for his titular roles in the films '' The Little Vampire'' (2000) and '' The Thief Lord'' (2006). Early life Weeks was born in Chiche ...

Plot

When Prosper and Boniface's parents die, their aunt Esther plans to adopt five-year-old Bo and send 12-year-old Prosper away to boarding school. But before she can separate the two, Prosper takes Bo to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, the city about which their mother had often told them stories. In Venice, the boys meet the Thief Lord, a mask-wearing teenager named Scipio. The Thief Lord invites the boys to come to his hideout, an abandoned cinema called the Stella, which is also home to three orphaned children Scipio has rescued: Hornet, Riccio and Mosca. Meanwhile, the boys' aunt and uncle, Esther and Max Hartlieb have traveled to Venice to find their nephews and hired Victor Getz to help. Scipio's newest client, a mysterious man known as the Conte, asks them to steal a wooden wing, a fragment of the long-lost

merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round ( international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in SA) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular ...

of the Merciful Sisters. Scipio asks the gang to help stake out the mansion where the wing is kept while he goes away for a few days. Getz discovers that Scipio is not a poor orphan at all, but the son of the wealthy Dr. Massimo. When Scipio doesn't show up for the stakeout the next day, the gang is confused. They find out that Scipio has lied to them about being an orphan and that all his 'loot' is from his father's house. When the gang go to steal the wooden wing, they accidentally wake the owner of the house, Ida Spavento. Ida agrees to let them take the wing so long as she comes with them. She takes them to the convent of the Merciful Sisters, where they learn the mystical secret of the merry-go-round: children who ride it become adults, and adults become children. Scipio takes them all on a boat to meet the Conte. The transaction goes off without a hitch. Barbarossa, the antique dealer who serves as the gang's

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

, leads police to the Stella, where they take Hornet and Bo and close down the Stella. Prosper and the others return to find Hornet and Bo gone. Thinking Getz sold them out, they confront him. Getz insists he is on their side, then tells them that the money the Conte gave them is fake. Ida and Getz get Hornet from the Merciful Sisters, with whom the police have left her, and Ida allows the gang to stay at her place. That night, Scipio sneaks out of his father's mansion and persuades Prosper to come with him to ride the merry-go-round and become an adult. Bo returns to the Stella. Getz finds Bo and brings him back to Ida's house. Meanwhile, the Conte and his sister the Contessa are now children, having ridden the merry-go-round. The Conte offers a ride on the merry-go-round as payment in lieu of money. Scipio and Barbarossa take the offer. Scipio becomes an adult and Barbarossa a young child. Prosper is reunited with Bo. The now-adult Scipio becomes Getz's new partner in the detective business. The aunt and uncle try to snatch Bo until Scipio returns and forces them out at gunpoint. Riccio and Mosca take the money they deserve from Barbarossa's safe and split it amongst the gang. Scipio uses his share to buy the boys a boat and establishes bank accounts for the others. In the final scene, Victor, Ida, Prosper, Hornet and Bo are on Scipio's old boat. Ida comments that they would make a great family.

Cast

* Aaron Johnson as Prosper, the protagonist and member of Scipio's gang. *Jasper Harris as Boniface "Bo", Prosper's younger brother. * Alice Connor as Caterina "Hornet" Grimani, the only female member of the thieves. *

as Scipio "The Thief Lord" Massimo, a rich boy who pretends to be orphaned and a great thief. * George MacKay as Riccio, one of Scipio's thieves. *Lathaniel Dyer as Mosca, one of Scipio's thieves. * Jim Carter as Victor Getz, a detective and friend of Ida. *

Caroline Goodall Caroline Cruice Goodall (born 13 November 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. She was nominated for AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries '' Cassidy'', and the 1995 film '' Hotel Sorrento''. Her other film appearances include ...

as Ida Spavento, a photographer who helps the thieves *

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gre ...

as Ernesto Barbarossa, a sly, greedy, and rude shopkeeper. *

Carole Boyd Carole Boyd is a British actress. She has had a career in theatre, television, and radio, and plays Lynda Snell MBE in BBC Radio 4's '' The Archers''. Career Boyd trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, where she won the princip ...

as Esther Hartlieb, Prosper and Bo's snobby aunt. *

Bob Goody Robert Goody (born 16 April 1951) is a British actor, librettist, writer and former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Theatre work Bob Goody trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1973-1975). He was a founder member of the acclai ...

as Max Hartlieb, Prosper and Bo's uncle. * Geoffrey Hutchings as Conte, a man who employs the gang. *Anita Wright as Contessa, the Conte's sister. *Poppy Rogers as Morosina * Robert Bathurst as Dottore Massimo, Scipio's selfish rich father. *

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

as Sister Antonia * Margaret Tyzack as Mother Superior

Reception

The film has a 50% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

. Will Wade of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

awarded the film four stars out of five. Neil Smith of the BBC awarded the film two stars out of five. Jo Berry of ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' awarded it two stars. Damon Smith of the ''

Bournemouth Daily Echo The ''Bournemouth Daily Echo'', commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' (a.k.a. the ''Bournemouth Echo''), is a local newspaper that covers the area of southeast Dorset, England, including the towns Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch. Published ...

'' awarded the film three stars. Sloan Freer of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...

'' awarded the film two stars out of five.

References

External links

*
Official Warner Bros. Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thief Lord, The 2006 films English-language German films German children's films German fantasy adventure films British fantasy drama films 2000s English-language films Films set in Venice Films set in Italy British fantasy adventure films Children's drama films German fantasy drama films Films about dysfunctional families Films based on fantasy novels Films based on German novels Warner Bros. films Films about abuse Films about child abuse Films about children Films about bullying Films about orphans Films about prejudice Films about siblings Films about rapid human age change 2000s British films 2000s German films