Stealing Rodin

On a bright June morning in 2005, guards at Santiago’s Palace of the Fine Arts were doing their rounds when they made a startling discovery: A small bronze sculpture by the French master Auguste Rodin—on loan from Paris and worth millions—had gone missing. A frantic afternoon passed before a young art student showed up with the Rodin in his backpack, claiming he’d swiped it as a provocative statement on whether a work of art can be present and absent at the same time. This fascinating documentary revisits the biggest art theft in Chile’s history and its colorful cast of characters, from museum officials to police, reporters, political figures—and the perpetrator himself.