Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival is proud to present a series of special one-off screenings of The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, a favourite of our programmers that we weren’t ready to let slip away.

Following its premiere at Sundance earlier this year, we’re excited to partner with Sony Pictures to bring Noah Segan’s bittersweet crime story to the big screen in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Hamilton from 25 to 29 November.

John Turturro stars as Harry Lehman, an ageing pickpocket in a city that has left him behind, with his performance earning rave reviews and putting him firmly in the Oscar conversation. Variety’s Tomris Laffly calls the film an “unapologetically local love letter to the Big Apple and its less-illustrious denizens.” Read more from his review below.

This series of screenings will be the only chance audiences in Aotearoa will get to see the film on the big screen, so don't miss out!

You can watch the trailer here and see below to book tickets:

AUCKLAND:

Rialto Cinemas Newmarket, Friday November 27 6.15pm | Book here
Rialto Cinemas Newmarket, Saturday November 28 8.15pm | Book here
Rialto Cinemas Newmarket, Sunday November 29 3pm | Book here

WELLINGTON:

The Embassy Theatre, Wednesday November 25 6.15pm | Book here

CHRISTCHURCH:

Lumière Cinemas, Wednesday November 25 6.15pm | Book here
Lumière Cinemas, Wednesday November 25 8.15pm | Book here

DUNEDIN:

Rialto Cinemas Dunedin, Friday November 27 6.15pm | Book here

HAMILTON:

Lido Cinemas Hamilton, Wednesday November 25 6.30pm | Book here
Lido Cinemas Hamilton, Wednesday November 26 6.30pm | Book here

"Often accompanied by a groovy, ’70s-style score of the Lalo Schifrin jazz-funk variety, the 60-something Bronx man Harry is certainly trying his darndest to maintain some semblance of that past. Played by John Turturro in a mesmerizingly tender performance, Harry lovingly cares for his disabled, nonverbal wife Rosie (Karina Arroyave) and wrestles his way through the stuffed subway cars of the Big Apple in search of cash and valuables to lift as a pickpocket with old-school skills, while being increasingly confronted by harsh contemporary realities where an average person no longer carries cash or wears heirloom timepieces. 

"Harry’s trek across all five boroughs of New York City gives us a unique taste of the sprawling town that’s been a playground for many legendary films and filmmakers. In that, the New York of “Pickpocket” isn’t the picturesque Central Park, charming brownstone blocks or imposing highrises. Not unlike Sean Baker’s “Anora,” this film navigates and caresses the overlooked corners of arguably the most popular movie town in cinema history, while lamenting an old way of being in urban spaces.

"It’s the kind of unapologetically local love letter to the Big Apple and its less-illustrious denizens that New York deserves." – Tomris Laffly, Variety