In The Shadows

Sparse, compelling film noir about a professional thief just out of prison and plotting a security van heist.

A professional thief fresh out of prison plots one last job, with corrupt police and murderous gangsters on his tail. The setup is a familiar one, but In The Shadows grips from the start. Shot in the hotels, cafes and car parks of an anonymous Berlin that could be any European city, it’s a film noir from the old school; cool, bleak and free from flab or frills. ‘I’m not one for talking’ says one unfortunate just before he expires, and the same could be said for all the players in a game where cutting to the chase is paramount. Every now and then we get a glimpse of humanity, a pipe-dream of rearing sheep or buying a house in Spain, and then it’s back down to business.

We're delighted that director Thomas Arslan will be at mac to introduce In the Shadows. The main feature will be accompanied by a very different account of a robbery, the award-winning Swedish short Incident by a Bank (dir: Ruben Ostlund).