Comme des voleurs (à l'est) (2006)

Director:

Lionel Baier

Writer:

Lionel Baier

Release Date:

5 December 2007 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Gay Interest | Brother Sister Relationship | Genealogy | Pregnant Woman | Archive

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Natacha Koutchoumov	...	Lucie
Lionel Baier	...	Lionel
Alicja Bachleda	...	Ewa (as Alicja Bachleda-Curus)
Stéphane Rentznik	...	Serge
Anne-Lise Tobagi	...	Lionel's mother
Luc Andrié	...	Lionel's father
Michal Rudnicki	...	Stanislav
Bernabé Rico	...	Liberto
Barbara Dembinska	...	Henryk's wife
Lech Dyblik	...	Henryk Baier
Cynthia Coray Schmassmann	...	Swiss eco-activist

Directed by
Lionel Baier

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lionel Baier

Produced by
Robert Boner	....	producer
Agnieszka Ramu	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
Dominique Dalcan
Maurice Ravel

Cinematography by
Séverine Barde

Film Editing by
Christine Hoffet

Sound Department
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Vincent Guillon	....	sound editor
Raphael Sohier	....	sound editor
Stéphane Thiébaut	....	sound re-recording mixer
Benjamin Viau	....	foley recordist

Stunts
Laurent Larrieu	....	stunt coordinator

Other crew
Dan Uneken	....	location manager: Spain

Production Companies

• Saga-Productions

Distributors

• Epicentre Films (2007) (France) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

"Stealth" - International (English title)
"Comme des voleurs" - France
"Como los ladrones (al Este)" - Argentina

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Switzerland

Language:

French | Polish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Germany

Company:

Saga-Productions

Movie Connections:

References The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Madcap comedy about a Swiss who wants to become a Pole

Lionel Baier (playing himself) is a young gay Swiss who finds out his grandfather came from Poland. He is suddenly smitten by everything Polish. One day he meets an illegal immigrant Polish girl, Ewa. He breaks up with his boyfriend and decides to marry Ewa so she won't be deported from Switzerland.

Lucie is Lionel's sister. While Lionel is a dreamer, Lucie has feet planted squarely on the ground. She is not pleased with Lionel's plan. On the spur of the moment she drives away with Lionel -- "comme des voleurs" -- heading for Poland -- "a l'Est". Presumably this is to convince Lionel to change his mind about the Polish girl. At this point we begin a mix of road movie, adventure, and personal discovery where the story of the grandfather is revealed.

The implicit joke in this madcap comedy is a Swiss wanting to become a Pole. Preposterous, people in Poland would say. Emigration is almost exclusively in the opposite direction.

A well-made movie except for a number of, sometimes jarring, continuity flaws. All the music, except for the pop song heard over the end credits, is by Ravel. The director states that he likes to use one composer per film. He felt Ravel gave the perfect mood to this story and I agree one hundred percent. Great choice. The director also says that he chooses the composer first then writes the screenplay.

The story is a mix of autobiography and fiction. Cost: one million euros.