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      King of Thieves

      2004 1h 41m Drama List
      Reviews 79% Audience Score 250+ Ratings A brother and sister leave home to become circus performers and must fight to survive when they are sold to a thief and a brothel. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (1) Critics Reviews
      Reece Pendleton Chicago Reader Writer-director Ivan Fila has all the ingredients for a modern-day Oliver Twist, but his overly broad characters and general lack of nuance make for an oddly unsatisfying experience. Mar 4, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member A young and naive Ukrainian Gypsy boy is sold by his father to a hustler who took him to Berlin to work in his circus. Instead he is put under harsh conditions to work in the gang of thieves. Sort of modern Oliver Twist scenario. His adopted sister who was sold with him was placed in the brothel. Can he save himself and his sister from the hell they were put in? Well made and acted. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Iakov Kultiasov was amazing as Barbu in this movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliantly made, wonderful and poetic, but also very rough and realistic movie about European child trade. Although 'Koenig der Diebe' is entirely fictional, writer-director Ivan Fila composed it out of a very wide array of real life accounts. Caruso's gang of young thieves for example is based on the children's gangs in Naples, Italy (not on Dickens's Oliver Twist), which were also brilliantly portrayed in the Italian movie 'Certi Bambini'. Although it is hard to believe that practices like this still exist in modern day Europe, one can only say that things never change. Only the young thieves now have cell phones and Gameboys and are dressed in Fila and Nike. Also note the stunning performance by the young cast and especialliy ten year-old Yasha Kultiasov, who carries the whole movie on his shoulders like a pro. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member just watched it on tv... i think it's much like Kusturica's Time of the Gypsies Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member arent i lucky. the first and only person to review this film. king of thieves is a modern retelling of the dickens story 'oliver twist'. whilst staying true to the idea of poverty and the abuses of children in the underworld, king of thieves uses the opportunity to reveal the darker side of germany, in particular the child slave trade. it is a bit of a tear jerker, but the lead boy is brilliant. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      King of Thieves

      King of Thieves (2004) King of Thieves (2004) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A brother and sister leave home to become circus performers and must fight to survive when they are sold to a thief and a brothel.
      Director
      Ivan Fíla
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      German
      Runtime
      1h 41m