This blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2". Read more about that here.
Pickpocket
Robert Bresson is one of those directors that few film lovers can deny is near the top of the list of originality and importance. Whether or not they find transcendence or boredom in watching his films is not as guaranteed. And for those who do like Bresson (or don't) few can deny that Pickpocket is one of if not the most important of his works. Again, whether people will find this their favorite of his films or least favorite is another matter.
If you know anything about Bresson you must already know about his style. Some people like to say it has no style, avoiding film clichés. Chosing non-actors for the acting roles, forcing them to do countless takes until they are sapped of any forced meaning or delivery. Using music and cuts in ways that aren't immediately identifiable as odd, but those who scrutinize such things will see how much they stand to distance you from the characters. Bresson wants to present you with the plot and the events, not presenting any emotion. This keeps you involved in the action, but forces you in a way to step back and question the real motivations and emotions behind characters. You are both deeply involved and incredibly distant and alienated in a brilliant way.
If you have read Crime and Punishment, it's impossible not to watch this movie without seeing the movie as almost a complete adaptation except with the crime of murder replaced by theft. But upon comparing both this movie and the novel afterwards you can see how almost any type of crime produces the same alienating and maddening obsessive thoughts on a person.
The movie amazing in that in a way it deprives you from the kind of fulfillment you normally expect from a movie until the very last second of the film. If you watch this film for the first time and you don't know quite what to make of it as it's progressing, stick with it and just enjoy what you see. It's actually quite simple. Once it's over then you will have a moment to let it seep in. Don't turn it off before the end, especially if this is your first Bresson film!
And then if you do like it, check out Diary of a Country Priest, currently my favorite Bresson film of the three I have seen. It has a similar but even greater kind of transcendent release at the end.
Rating: 9/10