Pickpocket

 
Pickpocket
1959
Director: Robert Bresson
Starring: Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pelegri

A race track. The bell sounds. Everyone is jostling for position, craning to see the horses. Everyone except Michel (LaSalle). Although he is looking in the same direction as the crowd, it is clear that his attention is focused on the people around him, not the horses. His hand reaches for a lady’s purse in front of him. With incredible care and suspense, he slowly unhinges the clasp on the purse, visibly jumping when the clasp breaks free.

Ah, Michel, the “hero” of Bresson’s crime drama Pickpocket. Of course, because this is a Robert Bresson film, Pickpocket does not fit the mold of a traditional crime drama. Michel is a pickpocket by choice, not by situation or circumstance. He sees himself as being better, somehow, than other men, and actively uses it as an excuse for his crime. Even the death of his mother does not imbue a sense of law and order into him, but it does introduce him to Jeanne (Green), a young woman who tries to show him the way to his moral salvation.

A Man Escaped

A Man Escaped
1956
Director: Robert Bresson
Starring: Francois Leterrier

A Man Escaped is a rare little bird of a film. It’s easily one of the most thrilling prison break films I’ve ever seen, but it doesn’t fit the mold of a prison break film. It’s easily one of the most suspenseful films I’ve ever seen, but it lacks so many of the basic components of suspense films. The director, Bresson, manages to craft an enormous film by keeping things incredibly small.

The film opens on a shot of Fontaine’s (Leterrier) hands. He is in a car, being driven to prison. His hands slowly move toward the door handle. He watches the traffic like a hawk, looking for an opportunity. There is a cart up ahead – he sees his chance – the door opens, he makes a break for it… and is then immediately escorted back to the car. Once he gets to his prison, he is punished, but immediately starts planning his escape. The title is a little (well, a lot) of a giveaway, but tells you very clearly what the story is about. This is clearly about Fontaine’s escape.