Street Thief

You will find yourself caring very much for Karr, despite is not so loveable persona. After all, he is an unrepentant thief with an overbearing ego. But, you will overlook all his flaws by the end.

Original and genius screenplay.

I can highly recommend seeing this movie for it's entertainment value!

I really liked the perceived realism of it, especially when considering:

A) This is a fairly independent production ("non-Hollywood").

B) The plot and style was quite original!

I actually just stumbled upon this title on Netflix recently and watched it based on reviews there. I have to say Malik Bader is pretty hairy and not so pleasing to look at but I think this adds to the griminess of his character, Kasper Karr. The fact that it is filmed in a documentary style makes it even better in my opinion. In an interview I read online Bader talks about how the documentary style makes the crime more realistic and it also provides for a unique character study feel for the viewer. In doing this it is also letting the viewer in on the street thief "profession" and showing a side most I think including myself are not used to seeing. That is of course an inside view of a street thief from the thief perspective and not the police or law enforcement side. Another point Bader makes in the interview I read online is that most crime oriented films don't bring you the realism you crave. But this film definitely does with the play by play of Karr's routine and his cold nature. It could almost be likened to an episode of dirty jobs! I'll give it an 8 for its edgy perspective on thievery and for its somewhat character study feel.

While I know there are rabid fans of "Man Bites Dog" I cannot agree with a previous reviewers parallel between the two films. "Man Bites Dog" is a dark, and I mean, DARK satire on how society holds criminals up and how "normal" people (in this case the film makers) can get caught up in the moment. Not with this movie. The "film makers" approach the subject with cold calculated view. There are no scenes of children being murdered like in "man bites dog" in which the film makers just keep filming. In this "documentary" the film makers take a different path. While it's easy to judge the killer in "man bites dog" as a true sociopath the thief in "Street Thief" is a bit more complex. This is a guy with complete control over himself and his actions. To be quite honest I was (God help me) kind of rooting for the guy as he did his "scores" around the Chicago area. The guy is a likable jerk. He can be tolerated yet understood. Why? He's a criminal, plain and simple. He doesn't mug for the camera or brag about how he's King Salami and can't be stopped. He KNOWS the proverbial clock is ticking. Therefore the ending is a pleasant surprise that makes you want to watch it again.

I'm amazed at the number of people Lexington this film and think it portrays an actual thief doing real crimes.

It isn't.

Nor could it.

If 'Kaspar' was as 'smart' as he constantly reminds the crew (and us), he'd be VERY dumb to have his face, filmed as well as filmed proof of his crimes.

Saying that, I WILL say that unlike a lot (most) other fake, documentary-styled fiction, it is VERY convincingly made.

As this is just a review, I'll only go so far as to say that some of the methods Kaspar used are not accurate (clever, yes - & a helluva lot better than either your typical 'crime' film, or - even what REAL thieves would do/use).

Director/star Malik Bader gets credit - for making Kaspar a fully-dimensional character.

Not a likable one, but, definitely believable.