The Thief (Vor) is a 1997 Russian drama film written and directed by Pavel Chukhray. The film is about a young woman, Katya (Yekaterina Rednikova), and her 6-year-old son Sanya (Misha Philipchuk), who, in 1952, meet a veteran Soviet officer named Tolyan (Vladimir Mashkov). Katya falls in love with Tolyan, who turns out to be a small time criminal, but who also becomes a father figure to Sanya. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Nika Award for Best Picture and Best Directing. Also winner of the International Youth Jury's prize, the President of the Italian Senate's Gold Medal and the UNICEF Award at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. Some say the film is ambitious, beautifully photographed and painful to watch. Others say the film is intense and that images from it will haunt the viewer. I think that's a load of crap. This film was amazing both on a social and environmental level.

11 September, 2014 Simple, but uninteresting. 1/10.

This movie reminds me so much of Zvyagintsev's The Return. They both emphasize conflict with the father figure and the pressures of becoming a man.

A fine film with an excellent storyline and outstanding acting. The story is not one a Hollywood production company would be likely to have any interest in filming. But it is a quite touching story of love and the ambiguities of love and family.

Unforgettable, heartbreaking, brilliant, perfect movie.

Just didn't grab me.

I beautifully told story of a boy growing up in Stalin era Russia. Beautifully filmed and at times really touching, with a pretty amazing cast. While the early years of Sanya's life (which thankfully is the bulk of the film) are really moving and wonderfully acted by the young Misha Philipchuk, the last twenty minutes are a bit of a let down as the actors playing "teenage" Sanya "mature" Sanya just werent as good or engaging. Which sadly took a lot of the emotional "wind" from the sails of this story. But all in all a good solid film.

Wonderful movie. Great actors.

(SPOILER!) Thought the little boy's part was cute and funny! He's so young, he's still learning, yet confused what's going on. He and his mother rides on a train and his mother meets this "soldier" but finds out he's actually a con artist, a thief. Sad movie, but I liked the story a lot!

Vor, The Thief was an example of excellent Russian drama. It was great done with excellent scenes, cinematography, and acting,.It showed an inside view of life in Russia during the Stalin regime, where people were forced to live in bad circumstances and struggle to survive. A single mother with a young son became involved with a man they met on a train, and they believed he was a soldier, but he turned out to be a thief preying on people. The story was narrated by the little boy, who saw him as a father figure and loved him but then felt betrayed by his actions. This was an emotional movie, with no stereotypes characters but real human feelings who draw you into their fear and pain. It was an unforgettable movie

I LOVE THIS MOVIE, AND I LOVE VLADIMIR MASHKOV. GOOD MOVIE. A LITTLE SAD I GUESS.

A gripping look at the warmth deprived nature of our world through the prism of a few specific lives. Be my soft spot for such films as it may, this one is chalk-full of genuinely piercing moments. Some of them carried solely on the small shoulders of a decidedly brilliant young actor.

if u've seen this boy then i'm sure u'll have this movie for a long long time....Young sasha was mind blowing....Superb Performance..................M gonna watch a lott many Russian movies now.........Ver touching and very emotional movie....Way to go Russia

Vor, The Thief was an example of excellent Russian drama. It was great done with excellent scenes, cinematography, and acting,.It showed an inside view of life in Russia during the Stalin regime, where people were forced to live in bad circumstances and struggle to survive. A single mother with a young son became involved with a man they met on a train, and they believed he was a soldier, but he turned out to be a thief preying on people. The story was narrated by the little boy, who saw him as a father figure and loved him but then felt betrayed by his actions. This was an emotional movie, with no stereotypes characters but real human feelings who draw you into their fear and pain. It was an unforgettable movie.

you won't forget the boy's face after seeing this film. It's not only because the boy's very cute but it's also because of how he feel and react to the soldier Toljan

Sin dudas una de las mejores películas sobre la posguerra en esta ocasión en Rusia!!!!! un reparto maravilloso lleno de buenas actuaciones y una excelente dirección de arte la historia es sencillamente acojonante

Well-done Russian period piece! Set in WWII, a single-mother falls in love with a soldier who secretly makes a living by stealing from others. The film is depressing, but the film builds suspense. There's plenty of rich characterization and detail. The narrative is also focused on the boy which makes this film more intriguing.

One of the best films i have ever seen. All the three lead actors have given an excellent performance, especially the kid and the way the director has narrated this film is simply superb. If you're looking for a good drama in russian language watch this. Strongly recommended to everyone...

A decent story & narrative apart from a little bit slow & distant. Misha Philipchuk was excellent as the core character Sanya (the child); & so was Dmitri Chigaryov (as the adolescent Sanya) even though with less than 10 minutes screen time.

even though the story was good, but it was just like telling a story, nothing special.....