

Xiao Wu is one of the best films of the 90s. It is a scene of personal tragedy, but in the universality of its compassion, it becomes a spiritual revelation. In a final sequence, he is shown after his arrest, not as a victim or hero, but as an off-screen object to be gazed at and mocked by people in the street. After Mei Mei leaves him, things seem to spiral downward for Wu.

The film straightforwardly chronicles the life of a petty thief. We’re first introduced to the dashing American ex-pat living in. Like, he’d make the entire cast of Now You See Me jealous. One of the most revealing scenes is when Wu stubbornly refuses to sing with Mei Mei at the karaoke bar but instead goes to a bathhouse and, alone and naked, sings a plaintive song to the empty room. One of Bressons most admired works, Pickpocket is a perfect distillation of his. The Gist: Michael Mason (Richard Madden) is the king of pickpockets. His film succeeds not only as social commentary but also as an acutely perceptive realization of the psychology of a self-absorbed individual. Michel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police.
PICKPOCKET FILMS SERIES
This is life as it is actually lived, not as a series of dramatic events forced into a narrative structure. Jia captures the rhythm and feel of day-to-day life in Fengyang. He grows increasingly alienated and lonely as he loses his friends who go straight, his girl friend Mei Mei who leaves town, and his family who eject him after an argument over a ring. Wu seems bewildered by the fact that his friends do not want to associate with him and he is unable to grasp the meaning of the police crackdown. In the background, the government has issued an order to round up street criminals. With no other work to fall back on, Wu is forced to continue his petty crimes, constantly running afoul of the police. It is, at base, about self-fulfilment and redemption through love - a common enough idea in films. The scene between the two old friends discussing the wedding is heartbreaking in the look of rejection on Wu's face. But theres no doubt that he is a great film-maker, and that Pickpocket is one of his masterworks. He even returns Wu's gift of money because it is "tainted". Pickpocket, like all of Bresson’s films, records the expiration of humane feeling in the modern world, the impossibility of decency in a universe of greed. His best friend, Jin Xiao Yong has just been voted a "Model Entrepreneur" for his activities in cigarette trafficking and does not invite Wu to his wedding. Wu's friends have given up the life of crime and do not want to have anymore to do with him. He befriends Mei Mei (Hao Hongjian), and they start to develop a tentative relationship but his social awkwardness leads to ultimate rejection. Xiao Wu (Hong Wei Wang) wanders about aimlessly with lots of money to spend and little to spend it on except call girls at the local karaoke bar. The film is reminiscent of the works of Robert Bresson in its use of non-professional actors, environmental sound, and in its spare cinematography by Yu Lik-Wai. It is a compelling portrait of an individual in free-fall and, like other films by the director, shows the corrupting influence of Western values on an entire generation of Chinese. Set in Jia's home city of Fengyang in Shanxi province, the film is basically a series of incidents in the life of petty thief and pickpocket, Xiao Wu. Having to cope with a dysfunctional society, we take refuge in solitude which is a substitute for dignity It is finally a film about my native town and about contemporary China." - Jia Zhangke A sense of longing permeates Xiao Wu, a 1997 film by the acclaimed independent Chinese director Jia Zhangke (Platform, Unknown Pleasures). So, if you want to start a new career as a pickpocket, this guy can get you started with his commentary in the video."This is a film about our worries and our uneasiness.
PICKPOCKET FILMS TV
The scenes that he analyzes and rates come from TV shows and movies such as Birds of Prey, The Take, Ocean's Eleven, Now You See Me, Killing Eve, Gangs of New York, Pickpocket, Pickpockets, Focus, The Adventures of Tintin, and Sleight.

Thompson has worked with the UK police and Revenue and Customs in public-awareness campaigns about pickpocketing. He's performed live on ITV's "Good Morning Britain" and BBC's "The One Show," and he was a consultant pickpocket magician for "Holmes and Watson" (2018). He's taken part in Mugler Follies shows in Paris and toured for 18 months, performing 1,700 shows, with Cirque Du Soleil Koozå.
PICKPOCKET FILMS PROFESSIONAL
Thompson is a professional pickpocket magician and a member of the Inner Magic Circle with gold-star status. I’ve got a fun video here for you to watch today from Insider, which features a professional pickpocket and magician named Lee Thompson breaking down pickpocketing scenes from movies.
