While my wife was out drinking with her bookclub buddies (Philip Roth's Plot against America since you ask) Robert Bresson's Pickpocket was on Artsworld. I've never seen it before and it was excellent. Basically it's Crime and Punishment but with an unexpected dollop of redemption at the end. Shot largely from the point of view of our wastrel pickpocket of the title, it's hardly a realist movie despite the naturalism of the settings, the camerawork and even Bresson's casting of non-actors. The story moves along through visual clues as much as any spoken narrative and works by the seemingly logical progression of one scene simply following the next. If you liked Le Samourai, L'Homme du Train or even Ghost Dog then you'll like this.
1.2.06
Pickpocket: Bresson
While my wife was out drinking with her bookclub buddies (Philip Roth's Plot against America since you ask) Robert Bresson's Pickpocket was on Artsworld. I've never seen it before and it was excellent. Basically it's Crime and Punishment but with an unexpected dollop of redemption at the end. Shot largely from the point of view of our wastrel pickpocket of the title, it's hardly a realist movie despite the naturalism of the settings, the camerawork and even Bresson's casting of non-actors. The story moves along through visual clues as much as any spoken narrative and works by the seemingly logical progression of one scene simply following the next. If you liked Le Samourai, L'Homme du Train or even Ghost Dog then you'll like this.
