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Pickpocket
(1959)
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Inspired by Dostoevsky’s 'Crime and Punishment', Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket tells the story of Michel (Martin Lasalle), a solitary young man who embarks upon a life of petty theft. Plying his trade on the city streets, racetracks and Métro system of Paris, Michel hones his sleight-of-hand skills to perfection and becomes consumed by his escalating addiction. But his activities alienate him from his few friends, while attracting the attention of a police inspector and a professional criminal (Kassagi), who recruits him into his band of thieves. Bresson’s use of non-professional actors, pared-down cinematic style and meticulously choreographed scenes of audacious robberies lend the film a remarkable and thrilling sense of authenticity. Emotionally restrained yet ultimately spiritually moving, many critics consider Pickpocket to be Bresson’s masterpiece. |
Radio Times
A mesmeric sequence in which a young thief learns the tricks of the trade from a master pickpocket is the highlight of this exceptional study by Robert Bresson of obsession, desperation and guilt. Inspired by Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, the film follows a theme used several times by Bresson as lonely individuals lay bare their souls in the midst of personal torment. Martin Lassalle gives a performance of chilling restraint as the possessed “dip”, but it is Bresson's control over his cast, the Parisian locations and the austere black-and-white imagery that makes this extraordinary film so compelling.
