Romance of a Horsethief

Eli Wallach steals horses from the army's herds. The army steals horses from everyone else. David Opatoshu sells horses he knows he doesn't have so his sister can have a dowry and make a good marriage; and hot revolutionary Jane Birkin wears a white lace dress to a secret meeting in a muddy field -- I suppose the servants will clean it. This movie doesn't seem to me a story so much as a slice of life, and its contradictory absurdities less funny than the sort of disorganized thinking that comes with the Us-Against-Them mentality, reflected in the set design and trying to sneak a stolen horse out of a brothel by having Lainie Kazan expose her decolletage to Yul Brynner.

This absurd and old-fashioned comedy about Cossacks and Jews might have been a minor success played by the Yiddisher Bund in Warsaw in 1935 (my grandfather's second wife would have had fun in the Lainie Kazan role), or on 2nd Avenue in New York. By 1971, if the audience wanted to see something about Jews in Tsarist Russia, they could see FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, which was a lot more approachable.

Like most any film set in a past period, the very least that can said about this is that the costume design and production design are both outstanding. Filming in Yugoslavia, and especially in outlying rural areas, clearly allowed for the greater appearance of a time and place well removed from Europe circa 1970, and the crew behind the scenes turned in fantastic work. It's also very noteworthy that the picture boasts quite the esteemed cast, with Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Jane Birkin, and Serge Gainsbourg, among still others, sharing the screen in turn. I can't speak directly to Joseph Opatoshu's novel but his son David penned a screenplay that ably stirs together wisps of period history, clashing cultures and ideas, romance, drama, and perhaps a tinge of adventure, and light humor. Dashes of cleverness pepper the length in the dialogue and scene writing, and the cast sure seems to be having a good time. In one capacity or another there's much to like about 'Romance of a horsethief.'

The problem is that when it comes to its storytelling the feature is much less sure-footed than in its fundamental craftsmanship. There's some cleverness here, and some strong scene writing, as the tale unfolds of a conflict in a small town between the imperialist officer who rules over it and the citizenry, including an underground economy of horse thieves and a young idealistic woman who returns home with big ideas. The strength of even the scene writing is highly variable, however; it's better in some instances than others at discretely communicating the plot. The plot itself, as it presents, and in turn the movie at large, rather comes across as the cinematic equivalent of someone without confidence singing a song by memory - loud and robust at best, but often only mumbling their way through some lines or whole verses and just going through the motions in the hope that that will be enough to carry the day. The same on-again-off-again, wishy-washy dubiousness comes across in Abraham Polonsky's direction as much as Opatoshu's screenplay, and even in some of the sequencing effected by editor Kevin Connor. The end result is a title that trusts in a handful of bold, broad brushstrokes to provide definition and the subsequent entertainment.

I admire Piero Portalupi's cinematography, though in some cases it feels a bit overly excitable. Maybe it reflects on the copy I was able to watch more than the film itself, but it really seems like the sound design is terribly imbalanced. The cast are generally pretty terrific, but with the material and Polonsky's direction both being questionable at times, the acting sometimes suffers in turn. Those stunts that are employed, at least, are as reliable as the work of the crew behind the scenes, especially when it comes to the horse riding, and any effects that we see look good. I don't think 'Romance of a horsethief' is bad; it's passably enjoyable. It would be much more enjoyable if a more careful, mindful hand had been exercised across the board, in the writing most specifically but in other regards just as surely. As it stands, when a scene crops up that did receive all due consideration and treatment from conjuration to execution - including the climax, and the last ten minutes or so broadly - then like audio that ranges from a nearly inaudible whisper to blaring tinniness that threatens to blow out speakers and ear drums, those high points seem to come out of nowhere, are unfavorably jolting, and come off worse for the fact of it.

I think this is most recommendable for those who are big fans of the folks involved. For anyone else, I guess it's a mildly suitable way to pass a quiet afternoon. Don't go out of your way for it, though, and be well aware of its deficiencies. So long as you can abide the unevenness and flaws, 'Romance of a horsethief' isn't a bad way to spend 100 minutes.

In circa 1904 Polish Russia, the Czar has tasked Cossack Captain Stoloff (Yul Brynner) with requisitioning all of the horses he can for use in the Russo-Japanese War. This puts him at odds with a local group of Jewish peasants, led by Kifke (Eli Wallach), who trade in stolen horses. Brash young horse thief Zanvill (Oliver Tobias) is the most accomplished of the lot, and while that makes him a target for Stoloff, it doesn't help when Zanvill begins a romance with local noblewoman Naomi (Jane Birkin), just returned from France with revolutionary ideals.

This was scripted by David Opatoshu, and based on a novel by his father, a famous Yiddish writer. Opatoshu should be familiar to anyone who watched any television from the 1960's. This movie plays like a mash-up of two other 1971 releases, Fiddler on the Roof and Nicholas & Alexandra, and lacquered in a Tom Jones veneer. Oliver Tobias is the lead (he gets an "introducing" credit), and he was a noted theater star in Great Britain at the time. Both he and Birkin get overshadowed when any of their more notable co-stars are on screen, and the cast is unusual. Brynner and Wallach get to relive their Magnificent Seven days, while Lainie Kazan and Serge Gainsbourg seem dropped in from another planet.

I'm at a loss to see how "unsubstantial" is a negative value in a comedy. Possibly the previous reviewer was more interested in director Polonsky's story than the movie.

I have always loved this film. It's one of those humanistic little gems like "Going In Style," "The Trouble With Harry'"and "Bye, Bye, Braverman." I first saw the film in 1971 and have remembered it with pleasure ever since. Fair warning: the DVD is a poor quality transfer, apparently from a VHS, with no digital enhancements. But the film is a delight and well worth your time. Lainie Kazan does, indeed, steal the show but Yul Brynner gives his Cossack a touch of gentle sadness in one of his rare restrained performances, while still offering a necessary bravado. Eli Wallach is excellent and David Opatashu displays great comic timing in the (very satisfying) finale as he impersonates a Cossack Inpector General.

"Romance of a Horsethief" is a marvelous, little-known gem that, unfortunately, appears to have been transferred to DVD from a badly degraded VHS recording. The sound especially is terrible, sounding like static when the volume passes even a moderate level. What a shame. I would like to think somewhere there is a quality studio transfer that could do this movie justice. The video also suffers. It isn't the worst I have ever seen, but "Horsethief" deserves better.

Obviously the reviewers here who say that Lainie Kazan stole the movie are men (one even noting her "twin weapons of mass destruction", etc.) She was good, an asset to the film, but it's obvious these men are ogling at a beautiful sexy body and their minds say, "She's the best thing in it!" :-D The scene stealers, if you ask me, a woman, are Yul Brynner and Eli Wallach, and my opinion is not influenced by their masculine assets! They were simply two excellent veteran actors chewing up the scenery as they usually did. This 1971 movie was not the first time Brynner and Wallach starred together; the first was the excellent 1960 Western "The Magnificent Seven". And of course, they were the standouts in that one as well.

I agree with a couple of reviewers who noted "Romance of a Horsethief" would have made a good musical, ala "Fiddler on the Roof". As a matter of fact, I thought of "Fiddler" as I watched "Horsethief". The setting and the mood, atmosphere, etc., even the title, would lend itself to musical numbers well.

If you can get your hands on a copy of this movie, you won't be sorry as far as the movie itself is concerned, if you can manage to look past the bad audio and middling video quality.