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Stolen review
:. Director: Rebecca Dreyfus
:. Genre: Documentary
:. Running Time: 1:30
:. Year: 2005
:. Country: USA
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There is something fascinating about the world of art thieves and the underground market for stolen art, and it certainly hasn't gone unnoticed by Hollywood, which for the last few years has been glamorizing these criminals, somewhat turning them into masters — or artists — themselves. Viewed through Tinseltown's lens, they are gorgeous and sophisticated creatures, fine art-connaissoirs for whom stealing is a high-stake game that brings them much-needed adrenaline. They look like George Clooney, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones and they usually get away with it, making cops look like the bad guys.
However, in reality it is much more sordid, and the main strength of Rebecca Dreyfus' documentary certainly lies in showing us the genuine side of this world, which is the polar opposite of the one featured in Hollywood flicks.
Through her own acknowledgment, Dreyfus was always fascinated by Vermeer's masterpiece "The Concert" and after it got stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Museum, thus becoming the most valuable missing piece in recent history, she logically stepped behind her camera to investigate the event.
Joining forces with renowned art detective Harold Smith, she trails the piece and, without ever coming close to it, manages to get a pretty clear idea as to its location and current "owners". As the investigation advances, with a hint of irony and danger in the background, it becomes clear that players in this world look more like Tony Soprano than George Clooney. In real life this is not a game or about the love of art, but rather about power, money and politics, which is the biggest discovery here. Meeting with various shady and amusing characters and following several paths that seem to go nowhere but end up crossing each other, Dreyfus comes to the surprising conclusion that the "The Concert" might have been stolen by the Irish mob in Boston and passed to the IRA, which might use it for political leverage back in Ireland.
With such findings, it is clear that Stolen is a pretty captivating documentary, especially as the filmmaker uses humor to de-dramatize an investigation, which looks hazardous for its protagonists at certain moments. Dreyfus also gives us a look at the history of the museum, and she certainly invested herself enough in the story to become part of it, even becoming one of the major actors who set in motion a process that might get Vermeer's work back.
While it is clear that her involvement might make Stolen a biased documentary, more problematic is her narrative approach. There is a sense of disorder here, as she goes ahead, following several leads that sometimes lead to dead-ends, which she never takes time to share with her audience. She leaves a few investigative threads open and, as a result, the spectator gets confused — a sign of screenwriting laziness like these bad thrillers where writers drop fake and unbelievable clues that are just there to mystify the average pop-corn eater. But fortunately, here this shouldn't steal the show
Fred Thom
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