Themes:
Relationships (parental and romantic), art ownership, security, love of art, secrecy.
Creative Ideas:
- Research art theft laws and how they vary from country to country.
- Create your art inspired by one the pieces Breitwieser stole.
- Research a piece of art that Breitwieser stole. Where is from? Why do you think he took it?
- Create your dream cast for the film.
- If you could interview Breitwieser, what five questions would you ask him?
- Write about one of the heists from the point of view of Anne-Catherine.
- Debate idea: assign students pro or con sides and have them debate if art should be returned to its country of origin.
- Make a map of the all the places Breitwieser stole from.
- Come up with a list of ten questions to ask the author.
- Write a chapter about where you see Breitwieser in five years.
Discussion Questions:
- Breitwieser considers museums to be “prisons for art”. Do you agree with this statement? What do you think the function of a museum is?
- Why did Breitwieser steal so much art, but not try to sell it? Do you think better or worse of him for not profiting from his crimes?
- Do think Anne-Catherine enjoyed the thefts? Was she an accomplice or victim?
- Breitwieser has complex relationships with his parents. How did these relationships affect his thefts?
- Why do you think Breitwieser was able to complete so many thefts in broad daylight? Why don’t museums have better security?
- What do you think happened to the art pieces that are still missing?
- There is a long history of movies and books about art heists. What makes them so compelling?
- Why do think Breitwieser’s mother tried to cover-up his crimes?
- Do you think Breitwieser faced an appropriate amount of punishment for his crimes? Should he have faced more consequences? Do you think he would have different consequences if this had happened in America?
- Do you think Breitwieser will ever stop stealing? Would you ever trust him in your home?