Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club - Page 102

Holadem · 11-27-2006, 10:50 PM

#106 - L'argent (1983) -

Alright, let's give it

Either Bresson's last work features the worse acting I have seen on this list, or it is the director's intent. Rhetorical question (statement) actually, as the direction makes it fairly evident that the "actors" in this film are supposed to be little more than mere mannequins, automatons: the camera is far more concerned with their hands (and incidentally, their mid sections) than their one note faces, or worse, one note stiffness from head to toe.

The film actually had me for a while. Before whatshisname ended up in jail, I was mildly involved before I realized it was a one trick pony: close up of hands handling money, locks, purses, closing and opening doors... etc.

Typical of French films of this time (the type I grew up with in the 80s), ambient sounds are disproportionately loud and call attention to themselves, often in the form of nearby motor vehicles, often at the loudest at the start of scenes (the editing sorta cuts into them), creating this obviously manufactured feeling of "being there".

Why the half star? I did like the extreme economy of dialog, Bresson typically cuts to dialog already in progress, and we show up just in time to hear the relevant info then cut to the next scene. But really that's it!

Terrible film, the kind that makes me doubt the wisdom of the voters on this list. I mean, what in the world would possess anyone to consider this one of the best films ever made, 95th out of almost 400??!!

Frigging L'argent was voted ahead of:

All About Eve
The Best Years of our Lives
Do the Right Thing
In the Mood for Love
Paths of Glory
Farewell My Concubine
Fargo
The Good The Bad and the Ugly
The Lady Vanishes
Rosemary's Baby

... to name 10 films I rank

(if I were to list everything between

and

, the list would be a LOT longer)

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H

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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...

Holadem · 11-28-2006, 11:35 AM

Yeah definitely. This guy makes Stanley Kubrick's actors look warm and fuzzy

.

To think that I was this close to getting Pickpocket, Au Hazard Bathazar and L'Argent from the library all at once, in an effort to group my screenings by director... btw, I never cease to be amazed by my local library's criterion selection. Most of the stuff I've watched in the last few weeks come from there. I have a Netflix subscription, but routinely forget to mail stuff back, and can for an entire month without new disks

.

Back to Bresson, just based on the one I saw, it's very easy to see how his aesthetics would them themselves perfectly to scenes of pickpocketing.

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Martin Teller · 11-28-2006, 02:58 PM

The lack of emoting in Bresson's films is quite deliberate, I assure you. Did you really think that he just... what, forgot to direct his actors?

Bob Turnbull · 11-28-2006, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Did you really think that he just... what, forgot to direct his actors?

Uh no, I don't think either Holadem or I thought that. Let's check...

I said:

Quote:

I'm sure Bresson has his reasons for this

and Holadem said:

Quote:

the direction makes it fairly evident that the "actors" in this film are supposed to be little more than mere mannequins

Nope, I think we both fully understand. Thanks for asking though.

Holadem · 11-28-2006, 03:09 PM

Did you just... what, skip the rest of the relevant paragraph in my post?

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Martin Teller · 11-28-2006, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holadem

Did you just... what, skip the rest of the relevant paragraph in my post?

Er... something like that. I honestly dunno what happened there, I think I just skimmed it too casually. I haven't felt this dumb in a long time.

So, uh, my bad.

Holadem · 11-29-2006, 11:41 AM

Not a problem. But I am sure you're gonna go back to rolling your eyes after the following

:

I don't think the actors in this film were very good at being emotionless robots either. Not emoting is acting as well, but sometimes these people seemed camera conscious, and that's never a good thing (nor is it ever intentional as far as I know).

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H

Martin Teller · 11-29-2006, 01:46 PM

I can't say I ever noticed that, but it wouldn't surprise me... Bresson typically worked with "non-actors". Which is a practice I usually disagree with, but to me, Bresson makes it work.

I didn't like L'Argent much the first time I saw it, mainly because I didn't buy the character motivations. While I still think that's an issue, on the second viewing I was a lot more impressed by the attention to physicality and detail, the framing, and the understated acting.

A Man Escaped is probably the best entry point for Bresson.

Adam_S · 11-29-2006, 03:50 PM

Quote:

To think that I was this close to getting Pickpocket, Au Hazard Bathazar and L'Argent from the library all at once, in an effort to group my screenings by director

In general, with this list, I've found it's best to go at it scattershot, it's far too easy to burn out (or burn through) on a director's work, and some of the eclectic filmmakers of the list can be quite trying to the viewer when taken all at once in a large dose.

Holadem · 11-29-2006, 03:55 PM

I take it you wouldn't be down for a Tarkovsky Tuesday?

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H