Taking In "Street Thief"
At first glance, "Street Thief" is an engaging and suspenseful documentary of a Chicago burglar's life of crime. Two filmmakers record the lifestyle, techniques, and jobs of a thief named Kaspar Carr, who steals from supermarkets, clubs, and other cash-rich Chicago-land businesses. The filmmakers tread a fine line between documenting a social phenomenon and being accessories to multiple felonies. Then after one robbery, Carr's life goes unpredictably and mysteriously awry. Or does it? A good burglar prepares his jobs thoroughly, casing targets, following the flow of customers and employees, bugging phones. There is every reason to suspect a movie about a burglar would be handled the same way. The filmmakers document Carr's biggest job ever, knocking over a lucrative movie theater. A couple days later, they drive by Carr's warehouse base of operations and find it swarming with police. Carr's Mercedes is in the driveway, doors open and blood on the driver