Where to watch “Los Ladrones: The True Story of the Robbery of the Century,” the documentary narrated by the perpetrators of the robbery

Following the tunnel found in San Isidro, it is inevitable to think of the “Robbery of the Century”, to learn more about this story there is the 2022 documentary The Thieves: The true story of the robbery of the centuryThe appeal of this installment is that the real thieves recount and recreate scenes about how they planned the robbery of a famous bank in Argentina in 2006, an event that is still considered to this day as “the robbery of the century.”

The Thieves: The true story of the robbery of the centurythe documentary film directed by Matias Gueilburt and produced by Sebastian Gamba and Julian Roussothe team behind Vilas: You will be what you should be or you will be nothing and The days of Ayotzinapareveals through exclusive interviews how Argentina’s most famous bank robbery was carried out.

What is Los Ladrones like: The true story of the robbery of the century

In 2006, a group of men broke into a bank in Buenos Aires, took 23 hostages, stole millions of dollars and jewelry from safes, and then vanished. After their escape, the ex-wife of one of the robbers informed on the perpetrators, who were tried and sentenced to prison terms. The sentences were eventually reduced and they are now free. How did the perpetrators get away with it? In this revealing documentary, those responsible for the crime tell all the details of how the perfect heist was carried out.

Details and curiosities of Los Ladrones: The true story of the robbery of the century

First time speaking on camera

It is the first time that Fernando Araujoconsidered to be the person who devised the bank robbery plan, gives his testimony on camera. According to the director of the documentary, the only audiovisual piece that existed of him was a very brief fragment on the Internet of the moment when he was arrested in San Juan, in 2006, where his face is not seen and he is only heard saying “art, art, art.”

Royal and reconstructed bank

For the filming, it was possible to shoot in some of the real locations where the robbery took place in 2006, such as the exterior of the bank branch in Acassuso, as well as the tunnels through which the robbers entered and then escaped in a rubber boat with the loot. However, for the scenes inside the bank, sets had to be reconstructed and a vault from an old bank in Buenos Aires, which is no longer in operation, was used.

“Miniature” robbers inside the bank

Filming the step-by-step planning of the bank robbery was a true work of art. On the one hand, the robbers were filmed in chroma key, recreating the actions they carried out on the day of the robbery. On the other hand, a scale model of the bank was designed, which took 4 months to make, and was of large dimensions: 8 metres long by 2 metres wide and one and a half metres high. Thanks to special effects, it was possible to assemble both parts and insert the robbers into the model.

Some friends, others not so much

Sebastian Garcia Bolster and Fernando Araujo They are the only members of the gang who, after everything that happened after the robbery, maintain a close bond. Although the objective of the documentary film was to film the testimonies of each one separately and so that they had no points of contact, Sebastián joined as an extra in a scene where Fernando is giving martial arts classes. With Luis Vitette Sellanes and Ruben de la Torrethey have no relationship.

Filming in Uruguay

The testimony of Luis Mario Vitette Sellanesknown as “the man in the gray suit”, was filmed entirely in Uruguay because he could not return to Argentina, in the cities of San José and Colonia, and at the height of the pandemic in mid-2020. In Colonia, the scenes of the tunnel to enter the bank and the boat navigation scenes were recreated. Meanwhile, in San José, where Vitette resides, the jewelry store where he currently works and the hall of the emblematic Bartolomé Macció Theater were used as locations for the transformation into “The man in the gray suit” and thus reconstruct the scene of the telephone negotiation.

Filming in San Juan

The Bauchazeta ravine was the place chosen by Fernando Araujo as a hiding place in 2006 after the robbery. Part of his testimony in the documentary was filmed in that same place, over three days, where Araujo set up camp again at an altitude of more than 3,200 metres, surrounded by nothing but mountains and crystal-clear springs.

Reconstruction of the “Power Cannon”

For the documentary film, Sebastian Garcia Bolster He spent two months building a replica of the “power cannon,” the special tool that opened bank safe deposit boxes in seconds, the same one he used in 2006.

Where to watch Los Ladrones: The true story of the robbery of the century

The documentary film is Available on Netflix.