![]() ![]() Yet, Bresson's complete mastery of his craft ensures that the viewer is left with far more than a heart that breaks at the fortune of its titular heroine. In the hands of a lesser artist, Mouchette might have been an unbearable film. Bresson has no interest in creating a stirring drama about escape and redemption, nor does he have any interest in basking in her suffering. Mouchette's father is an alcoholic, her mother is ailing on her deathbed, and the children at her school bully her cruelly. Adapted from a novel by French author Georges Bernanos, Mouchette is a poetic examination of a young girl's misery while she lives an empty life exempt from happiness. In Mouchette, Bresson's final film in black-and-white, the director paints a portrait of a young woman ( Nadine Nortier) who suffers at the hands of the cruel society around her. A heavy influence on Paul Schrader’s scripts for Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, and The Card Counter among others, Pickpocket remains one of Bresson’s most influential works and an exceptional introduction to his filmography. Instead, it uses objectivity in its direct style, diminishing the emotion in its actors’ performances to allow the viewer to see its events more clearly. Are his rationalizations for his crimes just, or are his actions inexcusable? The film refuses to answer directly. Bresson largely leaves the judgment up to the viewer. Pickpocket acknowledges the moral trickiness of Michel while neither praising nor condemning him. Bresson often took an interest in filming hands as they performed their various actions, and it’s here that this technique is used to its fullest extent. ![]() It often feels like a documentary on the actual pickpockets of France, informing the viewer with a sort of clinical observation on how the act is carried out. Each is masterfully edited, heightening suspense while portraying quite plainly how the pickpockets get away with their crime. The film has an exceptional ability to capture its sequences of thievery. Martin LaSalle stars as Michel, an impoverished petty criminal who becomes swept up in the underground world of pickpocketing in order to raise enough money to pursue his dreams. ![]() Prepare yourself for some beautiful tragedies.īresson explores the ambiguity of morality in his excellent 1959 film Pickpocket. For those interested in investigating his work, we’ve compiled a list of his seven most essential works. The result tended to be a minimalist expression of some grandiose theme that was hidden deceptively in the movie’s simple package.Įven with such a trim body of work as Bresson, there are films that stand out above the others. These works were often quiet - both literally, since he was frequently restrained when using score, and narratively speaking - and utilized ellipses in their storytelling. He achieved a remarkable consistency in quality, with even his lesser works still standing out as masterful works of cinematic art. The fact that he only directed 13 films in his lengthy career helps add to his legacy. Alongside auteurs like Jean-Luc Godard, Jean Renoir, and Jean Cocteau, Bresson helped put France at the forefront of international cinema and has gone on to influence a number of filmmakers including Paul Schrader, David Lowery, and Christopher Nolan. Aside from influencing generations of filmmakers both in France and abroad, Bresson created a singular style that has often been mimicked but never rivaled. In his 50 active years as a filmmaker, Bresson crafted some of the most enduring classics in all of cinema, including seven listed in Sight and Sound’s ranking of the top 250 films ever made. For those studying French cinema, all roads lead to Robert Bresson. ![]()
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