Sunday, October 08, 2006
Another review by Bunuel
Robert Bresson's Pickpocket is a very famous movie. It is ranked 41st on the 2002 Sight and Sound directors' list of best movies. Well, all I can say is, there's no accounting for taste.
As most people probably know before they've seen the picture - and if they don't, they'll figure it out soon enough - it is, despite Bresson's denials, based on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I'm afraid I consider that work also grossly overrated. More to the point, unless one is familiar with the model, the imitation simply makes no sense. Bresson is famous for eschewing psychological realism. If one does not find a spiritual or metaphysical meaning to the story, it is totally unconvincing. (Even on these terms, I find it baffling: petty theft is not murder.)
Bresson is also famous for using non-actors, and for what I would call a very schematic approach to directing his "models". Look down, look up, hold it for 10 seconds, look away – that sort of thing. This has what Brecht called an alienation effect, forcing the viewer (although not the performer, as in Brecht's case) to think about what is the non-psychological meaning of the gesture. Since, as I've suggested, there is no meaning, it's simply off-putting.
On the other hand, I do find Bresson's visual style very interesting. His use of space in the frame and of anticipating or following the action – say, by focussing on an empty hallway for 10 seconds – are techniques that have now been copied endlessly, but seeing them here pursued with total commitment and rigour is compelling. He also uses sound in a very focussed way.
I give high marks to the compiler of the DVD: the features are much more interesting than the movie. First, there is an introduction by Paul Schrader. I thought what he said was rubbish – I don't like his movies either – but it was revealing as an example of why some people (including many directors) admire Bresson. The commentary by James Quandt of the Cinematheque Ontario combines a mastery of the literature on Bresson with an astounding capacity for bullshit. Fascinating was a set of interviews made in 2003 with the three leads, which shed much light on Bresson's method of working with his performers. There are also two very funny contemporary French TV features: a somewhat confrontational interview with Bresson; and a clip of the night club act of the actual pickpocket Kassagi, who appears in the film and who was the technical adviser for it.
In summary, I would say this is a film worth watching for people with a serious interest in the history of the form ... but don't expect to enjoy it. Any spiritual enlightenment you find, you brought it with you.
As most people probably know before they've seen the picture - and if they don't, they'll figure it out soon enough - it is, despite Bresson's denials, based on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I'm afraid I consider that work also grossly overrated. More to the point, unless one is familiar with the model, the imitation simply makes no sense. Bresson is famous for eschewing psychological realism. If one does not find a spiritual or metaphysical meaning to the story, it is totally unconvincing. (Even on these terms, I find it baffling: petty theft is not murder.)
Bresson is also famous for using non-actors, and for what I would call a very schematic approach to directing his "models". Look down, look up, hold it for 10 seconds, look away – that sort of thing. This has what Brecht called an alienation effect, forcing the viewer (although not the performer, as in Brecht's case) to think about what is the non-psychological meaning of the gesture. Since, as I've suggested, there is no meaning, it's simply off-putting.
On the other hand, I do find Bresson's visual style very interesting. His use of space in the frame and of anticipating or following the action – say, by focussing on an empty hallway for 10 seconds – are techniques that have now been copied endlessly, but seeing them here pursued with total commitment and rigour is compelling. He also uses sound in a very focussed way.
I give high marks to the compiler of the DVD: the features are much more interesting than the movie. First, there is an introduction by Paul Schrader. I thought what he said was rubbish – I don't like his movies either – but it was revealing as an example of why some people (including many directors) admire Bresson. The commentary by James Quandt of the Cinematheque Ontario combines a mastery of the literature on Bresson with an astounding capacity for bullshit. Fascinating was a set of interviews made in 2003 with the three leads, which shed much light on Bresson's method of working with his performers. There are also two very funny contemporary French TV features: a somewhat confrontational interview with Bresson; and a clip of the night club act of the actual pickpocket Kassagi, who appears in the film and who was the technical adviser for it.
In summary, I would say this is a film worth watching for people with a serious interest in the history of the form ... but don't expect to enjoy it. Any spiritual enlightenment you find, you brought it with you.
# posted by Stephen @ 9:16 p.m. 
