by Mark Murton

Directed by: Richard Claus

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: After their mother dies, two brothers, 12-year-old Prosper (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and 5-year-old Bo (Jasper Harris), flee their mean aunt and head for Venice where they meet Scipio (Rollo Weeks), the mysterious “Thief Lord,” and his gang of street urchins, Riccio (George Mackay), Mosca (Lathaniel Dyer) and Hornet (Alice Connor). With bumbling detective Victor Getz (Jim Carter) in pursuit the brothers join the gang and embark on a series of adventures that lead to magical treasures.

Kitty Cameos: After the brothers join Scipio’s gang Bo declares, “Scipio gave me a kitten so I’m helping with the stealing and that’s that!” This is the first we’ve heard of any cats and it’s another ten minutes before any actually appear on screen when Bo is seen playing with a baby calico as well as a ginger tabby kitten at The Stella, the deserted cinema where the gang hide out.

In the next scene Scipio is at his opulent family home when he comes into the room where his father (Robert Bathurst) is talking to Getz. Scipio is holding a Siamese as he approaches his father to tell him he thinks the cat is ill and should see a vet.

Angry at the disturbance, his father rages, “I don’t give a damn about your wretched cat! It’s sick because it’s just had kittens.” (Which may explain where Scipio got the kittens he gave to Bo.)

Shocked, Scipio allows the maid (Roya Zargar) to take the cat from him and exit the room.

Getz has invented a pretext to seek permission from Scipio’s father, whose company owns the building, to visit The Stella, and overhearing this Scipio hurries back there to tell the gang it’s no longer safe and they have to leave. Bo is holding the calico kitten as they receive this troubling news.

The kittens aren’t seen again until much later in the film when the gang, now helped by Getz, take refuge at the home of Getz’s friend Ida Spavento (Caroline Goodall) and Mosca carries the kittens in a bucket.

Ida emerges from the house holding the bucket of kittens to ask Getz what’s going on. The animal wranglers on the film were Giovanni Franco Cometti and Fabio Gabani.

Final Mewsings: When it comes to stealing our hearts, cats are the thief lords.

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