Pickpocket (1959)

A bottle of dry wine. A pipe. A darkened theater. The quintessential black and white striped shirt tight on your torso. All of these are needed when watching Robert Bresson's Pickpocket, at least in my first viewing impression. Similar to Persona being my first introduction to Bergman, Pickpocket was my first avenue into Bresson - and I must admit, it didn't leave me with the greatest of impressions. Sure, others will argue that this is a staple in French cinema, but for me this entry was slow, focusless, and devoid of interest. Our main character, Michel, is watchable, but weak as a leading man. Perhaps it is the direction, but outside of the grossly entertaining pickpocketing scenes, I was bored.

Perhaps that is too strong of a word, but from an entertainment standpoint, it just fell flat. Coming off a high with Godard's Pierrot Le Fou, I was interested in continuing with what French cinema was pre-New Wave moment. This was minimalistic, a bit spiritual, and yet it still it felt like a hodge-podge of disaster. It began strong with a disasterous pickpocket at the races, yet we were able to see the smooth nature of Michel's life. The language coming from Michel's life, especially those dull moments in his one room apartment, is again minimalist, but lacking that emotion needed to build a climax.

Watching this with my FILM CLUB, we ranged from 1.5 to 8 with those finding this film so dull that they couldn't stay awake, to the most unlikely person loving this. My grade was a 6 due to the fact that I could not watch it again within a weeks time. I think I would like to revisit this film later in my life, perhaps when more groundwork is built, but at this time - it is like my impression of Breathless, it just didn't fit within my cannon of groundbreaking work. Bresson is a staple in French cinema, but I just don't think he had enough material. There was one line where Michel claims that a conversation is "boring him to tears", and for me, it best describes my initial impression of this film.

My favorite scene were the pickpocket moments. Bresson directs these with ease and excitement, but it seems to juxtapose the remainder of the film. The transfer wasn't bad, and the little sound that was present kept me guessing that more would eventually happen - but it didn't. Found in the "Village Voice" film book still, I am giving this film a pink mark in the book - meaning that it was good to watch, but wasn't great - an average film.

I will read articles on Bresson's work as I continue with his other films. This film hasn't jaded my impression, it just wasn't as exciting as I was hoping.

Also, the edition of this watched was Criterion - Spine #314.