Home Theater Forum - View Single Post - Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club

Bob Turnbull · 11-28-2006, 11:11 AM

#147 - Pickpocket - Bresson hasn't been one of my favourite filmmakers due mainly to his style and approach. As Holadem remarked above, emoting doesn't seem to be a requirement for his actors (at least in the 4-5 films I've seen of his so far). I'm sure Bresson has his reasons for this, but it can sure make a film a long haul (I'm thinking specifically of Diary Of A Country Priest - engaged me the first 40 minutes but just sank into despair and stretched it out). At a tidy 75 minutes, Pickpocket withstands some of these aspects of his filmmaking and does a solid job of crafting the picture of compulsion. The actual pickpocketing scenes in the film are extremely well done and show some deft moves as well as building some tension. Outside of those scenes, the central character (very much a blank slate) is shown reaching a point where he's not even sure why he's stealing anymore.

Might be too soon for you to try another Bresson though Holadem...

11-28-2006, 11:11 AM	#3032 of 3728
Bob Turnbull Member Location: Toronto, Ontario Join Date: Dec 2001 Local Time: 03:04 PM Local Date: 10-15-2008 Posts: 827	Re: Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club #147 - Pickpocket - Bresson hasn't been one of my favourite filmmakers due mainly to his style and approach. As Holadem remarked above, emoting doesn't seem to be a requirement for his actors (at least in the 4-5 films I've seen of his so far). I'm sure Bresson has his reasons for this, but it can sure make a film a long haul (I'm thinking specifically of Diary Of A Country Priest - engaged me the first 40 minutes but just sank into despair and stretched it out). At a tidy 75 minutes, Pickpocket withstands some of these aspects of his filmmaking and does a solid job of crafting the picture of compulsion. The actual pickpocketing scenes in the film are extremely well done and show some deft moves as well as building some tension. Outside of those scenes, the central character (very much a blank slate) is shown reaching a point where he's not even sure why he's stealing anymore. Might be too soon for you to try another Bresson though Holadem... Films Watched in 2008 , 2007 , 2006 , 2005 S&S List , HTF Top 20 Films My Blog , My DVDs (horribly out of date)