Vinci

Vinci

(Vinci), Juliusz Machulski / POL, 2004
Polish version / Czech subtitles, 110 min

Notorious art thief Cuma is released from prison for health reasons. Gruby the fence arranged things because he is planning the heist of the century. His goal is the jewel of Cracow’s Czartoryski Museum - Da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine - which is about to return from an exhibition in Japan. Cuma immediately gets down to business. He approaches Julian, an explosives expert who owes him one. But Julian is now a cop and only accepts the offer in order to prevent the crime. Gruby asks art forger Hagen to make a copy of the famed work, but Hagen recommends a young restorer named Magda. At about this time, Police Commissioner Wilk sits up and takes notice. He reckons that Cuma’s release wasn’t just accidental.... As in his famed debut, Machulski relies on an eccentric idea, a precisely unfolded storyline and witty dialogue. Both playful and suspenseful at once, this crime comedy is adorned with the socially eloquent scenery of contemporary Cracow. (source: Catalogue 40th Karlovy Vary IFF)