Le Mozart des Pickpockets (2006), also know as The Mozart of Pickpockets, directed by Philippe Pollet-Villard, won the Best Live-Action Short Oscar in 2007. It is a simple yet interesting French short film. It is a comedy short film that follows Richard and Philippe as they support a gang of Spanish pickpockets in Paris by living off the streets.
Philippe, played by Pollet-Villard, is a pickpocket who works with Richard (Richard Morgieve) and three other thieves to rob tourists and female shoppers. They act as police officers who arrest a member of a gang while the others search the pockets and purses of bystanders. When the rest of the gang are arrested, Richard and Philippe are left with no money.
An immigrant deaf boy follows them home one day and begs for money. Richard is a kind person, whilst Philippe first wants nothing to do with the boy. After trying to get rid of the child, they try to make him work. They decide to teach him pickpocket to make their time worthwhile, but things don’t go as planned and the boy may have something to teach these criminals.
The plot of the film is quite interesting. It is not something that we have seen for the first time, yet it is worth watching once. Characters like Cocky and ignorant Philippe and compassionate Richard have appeared frequently in other films. Pollet-Villard keeps the story moving along nicely and closes it with a funny punchline. The final closing scene has several possible interpretations, leading us to wonder if it’s just a simple farewell wink or if it’s a sign of something else.
