Journals of a Wily School

In the gigantic city of Kolkata, there are 3,000 pickpockets operating every day. A circulating bunch of 300 of them are in police custody daily. This story brings us inside a school for pickpockets and the daily experiences of petty thieves. Azad, a young addict and a very successful thief, is the protagonist. In cinema-vérité style, the filmmaker introduces us to the many layers of Azad's life: his family situation, including the many arguments, his lessons from the pickpocket guru, and his dramatic discussions with the police, with whom Azad makes a deal to work as an informant. The film includes shocking sequences of violent encounters with the police. Azad's guru teaches children how to make themselves invisible while stealing, suggesting that they invest a year or two in perfecting this craft. The thieves are also enchanted with big Indian film stars and imitate their roles and singing. Nicely composed, poetic takes of Kolkata contrast with shots of the pickpockets' living conditions, the hectic city life and the feeling of emptiness in this debut by a young Bengali girl. Shot in a lucid style, the last sequence takes us to the pickpockets' turf and shows us what they've learned.