The Theft of Carravagio movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: The Theft of Caravaggio

This heist-mystery had its world premiere at the Mediterranean Film Festival in Malta. It is now available on digital platforms like Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

RATING: Not Rated (Contains mature themes, tense moments, and some language)

LENGTH: 1 hour 30 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B-

Featured Product About This Movie:

A beautiful coffee table book of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s complete artwork! It’s the perfect way to appreciate the gorgeous, dramatic lighting of the master painter right from the comfort of your living room couch. You can find this and other books about him on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4ygxRZU

IN A NUTSHELL

Set on the sun-drenched, historic island of Malta, The Theft of Caravaggio is a slow-burn indie drama about a lonely cathedral caretaker named Orpheus. When a priceless masterpiece vanishes from his Valletta cathedral overnight, Orpheus is thrust into the spotlight as both the star witness and the prime suspect. As local police and a young detective from Washington close in, the mystery forces Orpheus to confront a devastating past he has spent decades trying to bury.

At the beginning of the movie, we see these words on the screen: “While inspired by a real-life event, this motion picture and all of the characters and events portrayed in it are fictional.” It’s based on the real 1984 theft of Caravaggio’s painting called “St. Jerome Writing”, which was stolen from St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta. I remember learning about Caravaggio and this specific painting in my high school Humanities class. My teacher showed us how Caravaggio was a master at using light in his work. There is an interesting conversation with insights about the actual piece in Act 2.

As the credits begin to roll, we also see these words: “On a historic Mediterranean island deep within an ancient cathedral’s walls lies Caravaggio.”

The film was directed by Joshua Cassar Gaspar, who also co-wrote it with Monika Maslowska. Gaspar is Maltese, but he wanted to make the movie in English for a larger audience. He stated, “It’s all about visual literacy; it’s about connecting to your audience. Language is important, sure, but it’s more about the visual literacy as opposed to authentic language.”

Already, the film has been nominated for a “Best Performance” award by featuring Paul Kissaun at the Mediterrane Film Festival.

TIPS FOR PARENTS

• Maturity Level: Kids will be completely bored. It’s best for older teens and adults who enjoy quiet, meditative European art-house dramas.

• Content to Note: The film features heavy themes of greed, guilt, past trauma, and emotional isolation.

• Pacing: Younger kids will likely find the slow, dialogue-heavy pacing a bit boring, as it isn’t an action-packed caper film.

THEMES

• The crushing weight of secrets and guilt

• Redemption and facing the past

• The contrast between outer duty and inner identity

• Accountability versus mercy

• Desperation
• Family
• Sacrifice

THINGS I LIKED

• The Cinematography: The cinematography is absolutely beautiful. Director Joshua Cassar Gaspar shot Valletta on lush 35mm film, and it makes the entire island look incredibly rich, warm, and atmospheric. Some frames look like actual paintings themselves! Gorgeous.

• The Setting: As a mom who loves to travel, I just loved getting swept away by the historic streets and breathtaking architecture of Malta. It’s a character all on its own! The director was given permission to film on the site where the actual theft occurred: the St. John Co-Cathedral. A Co-Cathedral is a church that shares the function of being a bishop’s official seat (cathedra) with another cathedral in the same diocese.  They shot for 22 days, using 35mm film. The movie looks and feels like it’s in the 1980s…in a good way! I love art, architecture, travel, and history; we get all of that in this film.

• The Performances: Paul Kissaun gives a beautifully weathered, deeply haunted performance as Orpheus. You can really feel the sorrow in his eyes. Elektra Anastasi, the actress who plays Leone, is the wife of the director.

• The Real-Life Connection: While the story itself is a fictionalized drama, it is lovingly inspired by the real, historic 1984 art heist of a Caravaggio piece from that very same cathedral. I love it when movies teach us a little bit of history!

• Storytelling: I love movies with twists and turns.
• Time: I love how the film plays with time. To emphasize that, there are conversations about a watch, as well as a mention of the multiple clocks on St. John’s Co-Cathedral. While many traditional Maltese churches feature two clocks on their belfries (sparking a famous local legend), St. John’s Co-Cathedral uniquely features three clock faces stacked together on its right tower. Rather than telling three different times, they actually serve as a complete mechanical calendar and timekeeping system built by a Maltese clockmaker named Clerici in the early 17th century. According to vibrant Maltese folklore, this is done intentionally to confuse the Devil. The clock on the right side displays the correct time so the pious villagers can make it to Mass on time, while the clock on the left is deliberately painted or set to the wrong time. The traditional belief was that Satan would become hopelessly confused by the conflicting times, miss the start of the service, and be unable to sneak inside to tempt the congregation. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

• The Misleading Title: If you go into this expecting a fast-paced, glamorous Ocean’s Eleven–style art heist, you might be disappointed! The movie is much more of a melancholy character study than a thrilling caper.

• The Pacing: It is a very slow burn. Sometimes the script keeps things so close to the chest that the mystery feels a bit frustrating rather than suspenseful, wandering off into the fog just when you want the tension to ramp up. The timeline bounces around a bit, which can confuse some viewers.

• Acting: Some of the acting is very wooden.
• Music: Sometimes, the music gets carried away in very dramatic fashion when what we’re seeing on the screen doesn’t quite merit the musical tension.

FUNNY LINES

• “You look at that painting every day, Orpheus. Did you think it was going to pack its own bags?” – Local Officer

• “I came all the way from Washington for a masterpiece, and so far I’ve mostly just found an awful lot of dust.” – Detective

• “Have you ever asked yourself how does the church remain so rich?” –  Hades   “The church never marries or dies.” – Orpheus

INTERESTING LINES

• “Some things are hidden because they are precious. Others are hidden because we cannot bear to look at them.” – Orpheus

• “A theft like this doesn’t just take a painting. It takes the peace of the whole city.” – Detective
  * “Watches: the reminders of time passing, counting down the moments we have left. It’s the only flaw in their design.” – Orpheus

• “Sometimes things are very mysterious. Only the artist knows what they’ve locked in their brushstrokes. We can only interpret them. – Hades
• “There is a place and a purpose for each one of us in this world.” – Monsignor

MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE

• The Burnt Orange Heresy (Another moody, artistic thriller centered around art world deception):  https://amzn.to/4vX7ir0

• The American (For that slow, atmospheric European pacing with a solitary protagonist):  https://amzn.to/4vuE55P

• Stolen: Catching The Art Thieves series (A great documentary for anyone who wants to dive deeper into real-life high-stakes art thefts):  https://amzn.to/4vzepFm

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