THE MISSING PIECE
The Truth About the Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa
Directed by Joe Medeiros
Running Time: 85 Minutes
New England Premiere
Filmmaker in Attendance
THE MISSING PIECE is the story of the man who stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, his 84-year-old daughter who thought he did it for patriotic reasons, and the filmmaker who spend more than 30 years trying to find the truth.
How did an unassuming housepainter from Italy pull off “The greatest little known art heist in modern time”? Was his motivation more than money? Writer-director Joe Medeiros traces the path of Vincenzo Peruggia, charged with the 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa from The Louvre, and finds the story of a daughter mourning the father she never knew and a country covering from old wounds. Combining historical photographs, animation and interviews with Peruggia’s descendants, Medeiros answers why and how the man called “Macaroni” by his French co-workers absconded with and kept the legendary painting for two years.
This riveting, often humorous documentary portrays a man struggling to find his way in the world and make his family proud. Most touching are the scenes of Peruggia’s 84-year-old daughter, Celestina, who grew up on stories about her father and longed for the truth.
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