Jamie Roberts’s Netflix documentary film, Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris, sheds some light on the adventurous life of the titular person who masterfully pulled off a grand heist at the Paris Museum of Modern Arts in 2010. Vjeran Tomic, who was the mastermind behind this audacious theft that almost no one had the courage to commit, himself narrated how his life of crime had begun and what led him to do it. Vjeran Tomic is a man with a dauntless attitude and a daring talent for climbing the tallest buildings in the city, which made him known as the real-life Spider-Man of Paris.

Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris is indeed a vertigo-triggering film as it showcases some real-life footage of how a thief like Tomic used to climb the tallest buildings in the town and jump from one to another. Sometimes, he walked on the railings, which totally justifies why he is called the Spider-Man of Paris. Starting with detectives and the people he had stolen from, everyone acknowledges the fact that this man did have to have the guts to pull off such heists.

Who Is Vjeran Tomic?

Born in 1968 in Paris, Tomic’s childhood was not an easy one. He was of both Bosnian and Croatian origin. His mother fell sick after a car accident, and consequently, he had to be taken away from his parents’ house when he was only one year old. He was raised under the supervision of his uncle and aunt in Bosnia. From a very young age, he started stealing things. His career of robbery began with small thefts, but it ultimately escalated to grand heists of paintings from the rich. After relocating to Paris, Tomic began to commit these heists on a grand scale. He met Corvez, who used to buy those stolen paintings from him, but the two of them were never each other’s friends. Tomic started with car radio theft, but his attention fell upon the masterpiece paintings. He used to climb the tallest buildings and sneak into houses to steal the most expensive and valuable paintings from under their noses while they were asleep.

After that, Tomic’s attention shifted towards the Paris Museum of Modern Art. In this documentary, we get a detailed description in Tomic’s own words of how he managed to sneak into the museum and what safety measures he had taken. He talked about his stealthy tactics in a manner that almost felt like a tutorial on how to steal a painting from a museum. But we’re sure no one can pull off such an audacious heist as the Spider-Man of Paris managed to do. He did admit that he was anxious while committing the theft of those paintings, but he was unable to refrain from doing so. He stole five masterpieces, which were worth millions, from the museum and secretly put them all inside the trunk of his car. Ordinary people would have just died of a heart attack, but Tomic enjoyed this adrenaline rush. After successfully committing the heist of five of the most precious paintings from the museum, he still wanted to steal more, but he was out of time. The next day, the painting heist shook the entire nation, leaving the authorities stunned by the audacity of the thief.

Where Is Vejran Tomic Now?

Tomic has never denied his penchant for stealing. Rather, he proudly said that he is against this whole system and the power dynamics of our society. According to him, rich people are very pretentious, and they do not sympathize with working-class people. So Tomic doesn’t see it as unfair to steal from them. However, he never claimed himself to be a Robin Hood, as he proudly confessed how he used to spend the money on stolen things. He used to hire sex workers and spend the money on various kinds of indulgences. His confessions and description of the heists reveal his honesty and fearlessness. He never actually feared the authorities, nor did he try to run away from them. He was a mastermind thief who remained elusive for a long time until, one day, he was caught in the middle of another heist by the authorities. Tomic was disappointed due to his failure to get away from the police, but he took it as an opportunity to turn against Corvez. Even though Tomic was a mastermind thief, he never brought any physical harm to anyone throughout his whole career of theft. He was more like a gentleman thief who held some strong principles and morals.

After selling those paintings to Corvez, Tomic didn’t earn the money he deserved to be paid, which fueled the anger in his mind, prompting him to confess his crime and entangle Corvez’s name in the crime. However, despite turning against Corvez, the paintings were never retrieved to date. As Corvez was interrogated, he said that he had entrusted those five paintings to a guy named Yonatahn Brin. But upon arresting Brin, he said that he had destroyed those paintings. It was difficult for everyone to believe that those paintings had been destroyed. Vjeran Tomic, Corvez, and Yonathan Brin were arrested for the crime.

While Corvez was given a 6-year sentence, Brin had to spend seven years in prison. However, it was not mentioned in the film how many years Tomic spent in prison. In 2017, when he was charged with theft, he was given an eight-year prison sentence, but it’s never mentioned in the film how he ended up spending only six years in prison. After he got out of prison, he made an effort to live a normal life. He reunited with his girlfriend and decided not to steal anymore. But he definitely wanted to continue his climbing, as even after so many years had passed, he still craved that adrenaline rush. His girlfriend remained a constant source of support in his life.

Now 55-year-old Vjeran Tomic is a freeman who takes pride in the way he has managed to maintain his physical strength. His partner says that he has been able to climb the building all over again, so the Spider-Man name really suits him. However, the other people from whom Tomic once stole are not quite happy about his release because they believe Tomic can restart his career as a thief all over again, as now he is an unstoppable freeman roaming the streets of Paris.