The Missing Piece: Mona Lisa, Her Thief, the True Story (2012)

• 72%
• 2012
• Documentary
• Joe Medeiros

How did an unassuming house painter 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 recovering 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.