Inside

The spacious penthouse with a panoramic view of the New York skyline is decked out with designer furniture and valuable works of art. It is bathed in peaceful sunlight when, having been dropped off by a helicopter, art thief Nemo successfully disables the alarm system and breaks in. He is after five paintings by Egon Schiele. But the self-portrait, which is supposed to be hanging in the bedroom, is missing. Then, when the high-end security system can no longer be disarmed, the trap snaps shut. Nemo searches for a way out, but the damage to the highly intelligent system only makes things worse. He has long since lost contact with his accomplices, and it seems that nobody else has been alerted either. Nemo is stuck, alone with the surveillance camera monitors which alternate glimpses of empty corridors, the doorman and the occasional cleaner. Hours turn into days, days into weeks and months. Trapped in a golden cage, he reaches his physical and emotional limits.

Vasilis Katsoupis’ feature film debut is an existential exploration of human needs and the value of art and luxury. Willem Dafoe is convincing in the role of the art thief left to his own devices and doing battle with a dream penthouse that turns into a nightmare.

Source: 73. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)