On October 25th at the Oriental Theater, “Plucked,” a movie about Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra violinist Frank Almond’s stolen Stradivarius violin, was shown as part of the Milwaukee Film Festival. With a line for the film that went around the corner, and Frank Almond himself being in the audience and present for an interview after the showing, it was clear that there was a lot of excitement from the audience.

The film begins with an introduction as to what Stradivarius instruments are and what makes the instruments so valuable. Stradivarii are instruments that were made in Cremona, Italy, in the 17th and 18th century. They are worth millions of dollars. The instruments are valued for their beautiful sound and acknowledged as the best instruments ever. Today, only the finest players play on Stradivarius instruments, with only 244 violins currently accounted for.  

In January of 2014, Frank Almond, the concertmaster of the MSO, was tased in a parking lot after a performance. A man stole the 1715 ‘Lipinski’ Stradivarius from Almond. The film looks into the police investigation that followed, and into the lives of the not-so-brilliant art thieves, Universal Knowledge Allah and Salah Jones.

One of the things I enjoyed so much about the documentary was the thorough depiction of the personalities of both Allah and Jones. Instead of making them out to be evil criminals, the documentary paints both of the thieves as somewhat personable loving people. Allah is shown smiling in almost every scene, and at one point tells that detectives that they are his favorite detectives he’s ever met. It becomes clear that Allah had very little knowledge about the instrument and was only hoping to make some more money to provide for his teenage daughters. Jones is shown as a man with a deep passion and appreciation for art, and someone who also loves and values his ex-wife and children. 

Another enjoyable aspect of the film were the surprisingly funny jokes. Some of my favorite scenes in the documentary were the detectives questioning Allah. When asked if he knows anything about violins, Allah shares that he played the drums in middle school. Another comical part of the film was the detectives and various other law enforcement member’s reaction to a stolen violin. In Frank Almond’s 911 call, he informs the dispatcher of the severity of the issue, but when the dispatcher asks about his physical health after being tased he continues to talk about his violin and the value of it, instead of his physical condition. 

Whether you are a fan of classical music and aware of Stradivarius instruments and their high value, or not, you will find this film comical, informative and interesting.