7/5/2023 0 Comments Pickpocket 1959![]() 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. It's my first Bresson film, and it renews my faith in French movies of that period.For those studying French cinema, all roads lead to Robert Bresson. So I was kinda left saying, "huh? where did that come from?" But I dunno, maybe I missed something. I think it happened too quickly, whereas the rest of the film was given ample time to breathe. My only criticism is that the ending didn't seem believable to me. ![]() It's meticulous and very finely detailed, and that speaks for itself. Instead, this is more subtle in its approach to art. ![]() We don't get gratuitous weirdness like long scenes of the backs of people's heads (Godard). And unlike many of the other French "nouvelle vague" directors of the 50s-60s who felt obligated to be weird in order to make a statement, this film was done very lucidly. It's very fluid and keen, capturing so much in each motion, much like Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece "Rope" but even better in many scenes. (But don't expect Faust either.) The camera-work is primo. Instead we get a very complex & original work which, if anything, is more like Faust by Goethe. But don't expect it to go any further than that. There are many allusions to C&P which were quite deliberate. Looks like there are a few negative reviews from misguided people who thought that this was supposed to be an adaptation of Dostoyevski's "Crime and Punishment". ![]()
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