The Art of Stealing (2008)

Two amateur thieves are hired to steal an extremely valuable Van Gogh painting from the abandoned farm of an Argentinian countess.

Director:

Leonel Vieira

Writers:

João Quadros (screenplay), Roberto Santiago (screenplay)

Stars:

Ivo Canelas, Enrique Arce, Flora Martínez

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ivo Canelas	...	Xico da Silva
Enrique Arce	...	Jesus Fuentes
Flora Martínez	...	Lola
Nicolau Breyner	...	Augusto Cardoso
Soraia Chaves	...	Prima
Magüi Mira	...	Condessa
Rulo Pardo	...	Cunhado
Miguel Borges	...	Gomes
Aldo Lima	...	Coxo
Almeno Gonçalves	...	Horácio
António Melo	...	Cliente 1
Daniela Faria	...	Cassandra (as daniella Faria)
David Almeida	...	Anão 1
Joaquim Nicolau	...	Cliente 2
José Neto	...	Veterinário

Storyline

Two amateur thieves are hired to steal an extremely valuable Van Gogh painting from the abandoned farm of an Argentinian countess.

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Plot Keywords:

sword | shotgun | shooting | satire | prison | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site

Country:

Portugal Brazil Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 2008 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Art of Stealing

Filming Locations:

Alcochete, Setúbal, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

€2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stopline Films, Fado Filmes, Nadie es Perfecto

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Chico Silva: So... How's life in Brazil? How're the babes? Newsflash: YOU'RE DEAD!

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Connections

References Cops (1989)

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Soundtracks

Tombstones Under Oak Trees
Written by Afonso Cruz
Performed by The Soaked Lamb

User Reviews

Leonel Vieira's tribute to Tarantino.

This new film of the director Leonel Vieira is clearly inspired in Tarantino's cinematographic universe, like it was a kind of tribute to that great American director. In a recent TV interview Leonel Vieira admitted that he always was fascinated by Tarantino's films and all the ambiance which surround them, but it's not easy for a Portuguese director to do that kind of cinema. And in this film we understand why it's not easy to do such kind of cinema in Portugal!

In fact, in this film, we notice a true effort to create a plot, scenarios, characters, lines and jokes close to the ones done by Tarantino, but then it stills missing something... It misses well done action scenes, it misses actors capable of doing such kind of characters (exceptions made just to Nicolau Breyner and Ivo Canelas - I'm reporting just to the Portuguese actors which are the ones I know better), it misses money for the special effects, well, it misses many things! But this attempt of Leonel Vieira to do something different in the Portuguese cinema scene is something to be praised I must say! I think this movie is valuable because of that, because it tries to be something different from the "common" Portuguese cinema.

On the other hand I think it was totally unnecessary to put some well know Portuguese TV actors in secondary roles which add nothing to the movie. In fact they make it lose some credibility because they don't fit in a film like this. I mean, will the Portuguese viewer (an important target of this film I suppose...) give some credibility to actors like Marco Horácio, Óscar Branco, Joaquim Nicolau, Aldo Lima, Pedro Tochas or even non-actors like Olavo Bilac in a film like this?!!

The English language is a valid option, but it creates some flaws in the film as well.

Well, it's entertaining and funny, at parts, but it values essentially for the risk of making a production like this in our country.