Bresson is one of my absolute favorites. I discovered him after Tarkovsky, who amazed me by convincing me for the first time that cinema can be art. Imagine my amazement when I found Bresson afterward saying cinematography has yet to begin? Throughout his films, he seems to express imprisonment. Be it illness, despair, death, childhood (Mouchette, Le Diable) or literal incarceration, or even existence itself (most explicit in Au hasard Balthasar.) It was a relief to find a filmmaker who didn’t rely on theatrical/dramatic acting. Bresson would tell his “models” to speak as if they are just speaking to themselves. And his idea of “movement” (greek literal definition of cinema) was impression (exterior->interior) rather than expression (interior->exterior). Instead of relying on the camera to establish space, Bresson instead believed it was sound that added the spacial dimension in cinematography. The image, for Bresson, on the other hand, was reacting to sound. Take note of this when watching his films. Sound seems to be the glue that connects the images to a specific order, which creates narrative. Lancelot du Lac is his most daring film stylistically. For instance, I believe it’s his only film where he uses a zoom lens. And while in most of his films, the camera is mostly still and occasionally moves but very briefly and almost unnoticeable. In Lancelot, the camera moves around quite a bit. It was as if Bresson was finally releasing himself from all his stylistic inhibitions, which for his last two films, revealed a much more ethical/existential content than ontological/introspective previous films. As if he didn’t have to worry about style anymore, and could simply focus on the substance. Like how many writers take time to establish their style and reach a point where they finally know how to write, and from then on could prioritize the story. L’argent might be his most perfect film. The one I cannot argue against, like A Man Escaped. Just perfect. But my personal favorite is Four Nights of a Dreamer. I don’t know why. I honestly don’t know. Like how my favorite film from Tarkovsky is Nostalghia. I just don’t know why.
Thank you so much for the analysis and recommendations, my friend! 😃 I wish I had read comments like yours before watching my first Bresson film; that would have given me the proper context. About image and sound, I was reminded of something he said, I think in the same Q&A that is included in the Criterion release of L'Argent (and I'm paraphrasing, as usual): the cinema consists of two devices, one that lies (the camera) and one that tells the truth (the sound recorder). I'm also a big fan of Four Nights of a Dreamer, I think because I love Dostoevsky's White Nights. I saw the film in French, with no subtitles. (Same thing with A Gentle Woman.) I totally agree with you regarding L'Argent. What a masterpiece. I'll watch Lancelot du Lac one of these days, keeping your comments in mind. It sounds like an eccentric film in his oeuvre. Wow. Tarkovsky and Bresson. Their cinema is their worldview. And vice versa. Thanks again, my friend. Best wishes!
For some reason i was always stuck with Devil Probably as my favorite and Money didn’t quite work for me because it’s so dead but i guess that is the point. I heard he was working sometimes on a final movie on the book of Genesis showing footprints of Adam and Eve
Wow, I didn't know that! I'll do some quick research. 😃 You're right about the dead quality of Money. The Devil Probably is, in my opinion, the best of his underrated films. I just found a copy of Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne, so I'll watch that soon. Thank you for watching and commenting, my friend, and have a fantastic day!
@@JorgesCorner It was just something my friend Peter Tonguette told me in IMs a long time ago. He's a film critic I think, if he's still active, but he usually covers American film, so I don't know where he heard it. Maybe it wasn't true.
French cinema... you make me nostalgic, Jorge, this reminds me of the time when I was living near an Arthouse Cinema... Arte, our French-German TV-channel broadcasts films by Bresson from time to time, last year : “Un condamné à mort s’est échappé”. But it’s not the same to watch movies on the big screen or on TV. When I heard your reflections on “Le diable probablement” (a film I have not yet seen) I thought: wow, Bresson was really ahead of his time. The problems he deals with in this film (negative effects of pragmatism etc., as you call it) are even more urgent today than they were in the past. Tausend Dank wie immer für Deine klugen Ausführungen und Zitate! 😃 - “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” - wow! !Muchos saludos, querido amigo, und bis zum nächsten Mal!
You're so right about the big screen vs. TV, Merle! 😃 A few years ago I had the chance to see Baisers volés, one of my favorite films ever, at a small movie theatre, and it was a much better experience. The same thing with some films by Kurosawa, during a retrospective of his work. But yes, as much as I love the film, it is unfortunate how Le diable probablement has remained so relevant. I recommend it, though Un condamné à mort s'est échappé is probably a more "important" and more "representative" film. Ich liebe dieses Zitat von Villeneuves Arrival. Toller Film! Tausend Dank für den Besuch und die Bemerkungen! ¡Muchos saludos, querida amiga, y será hasta pronto! 😊
Okay so talking about the difference in a colour vs b&w Bresson and using the transition of Bergman as an example is exactly true - at least imo as well.
Absolutely, my friend! 😃 He was such a big fan of Bergman that in his list of top 10 films there are three by the Swedish filmmaker: Wild Strawberries, Winter Light, and Persona. I always say my favorite Bergman is Wild Strawberries subjectively speaking, and Persona objectively speaking. Thank you for watching and commenting, and have a fantastic weekend!
Excelente video, me ayudó muchísimo a entender las intenciones detrás de esta película, porque es la primera que veo de Bresson y la verdad es que me dejó algo descolocado porque no estoy acostumbrado a estilos como el suyo 😅. Las actuaciones desabridas y la falta de emoción en los diálogos ahora cobran sentido gracias a lo que mencionaste sobre los métodos actorales que Bresson utilizaba. Saludos desde México.
¡Mil gracias, César! 😃 Me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado el video. Mi primera experiencia con Bresson fue exactamente igual a la tuya. 😄 Te recomiendo sus otras películas, si no las has visto, especialmente Au Hasard Balthazar, L'Argent y Pickpocket. (Entre paréntesis, Pink Floyd es una banda excelente y mi album favorito es Wish You Were Here.) ¡Muchos saludos, amigo, y viva México! 🇲🇽
@@JorgesCorner Genial! 😃 definitivamente tengo que verlas. Y ah que chingón! Yo estaría entre Animals y Wish you were here jaja. Ambos son mis favoritos de Pink Floyd.
Hello, I have just discovered your channel and I just loved it. Me gustó mucho desde la introducción directa y sín preámbulo innecesarios los comentarios y explicaciones de los libros y las películas el manejo del inglés soltó el acento en la forma clara de hablar. Ya he escuchado el día de hoy tres reseñas y ahora estoy con las películas. Me gustarían más reseñas en español. Muchos Saludos desde Italia y espero que leas mi comentario
¡Muchísimas gracias por la visita y por tus comentarios, Cecilia! 😃 Me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado el canal. Tengo pensado subir más contenido en español, especialmente para mis series "Cuentos memorables" y "Novelas indispensables". ¡Muchos saludos, y gracias nuevamente!
RB is utterly outside the movie industry, with its stupid fixation on entertainment. I think his handling of the performers is to that end. Just great how far he went with his rejection of the weak, compromised form called cinema - which Bresson shows didn't have to turn out that way.
Excellent point, my friend! It's part of what makes Bresson great, and one of the reasons why his art has survived that of so many of his colleagues. Thank you for stopping by, and have a great day! 😃
Interesting that you overlook my diss of movies. I don't believe you don't mind that. Bresson transcends that, and produces work that has the aesthetic weight of a good fine arts exhibition, which is a stroke of genius or insight on his part.@@JorgesCorner
I watch all sorts of films, but I can totally relate to your perspective. At one point in my life, I became bored by mainstream movies. That's when I began to explore the work of Bresson. What other films/filmmakers do you recommend that transcend entertainment?
It's beyond transcending entertainment for me. It's about not being an industry person, which is almost impossible. Jean-Marie Straub qualifies. So did Jean Renoir in his European work, more benignly than Straub. It's basically about films resembling advertising, which Renoir called the cancer of society. Ozu and Hou Hsiao-hsien are both Industry people, but their very rare 'fine arts' aesthetic strengths offset it effectively enough for their work to shine forth. Otherwise the game is manipulation and exploitation of the viewer, as in advertising.@@JorgesCorner
Thank you for the recommendations! It's becoming increasingly difficult to find contemporary films that do not subscribe to the advertising aesthetics. I will check out the work of Jean-Marie Straub. By Renoir I've seen Grand Illusion, The Rules of the Game, The River, and French Cancan. I've seen lots of films by Ozu; he's one of my favorite filmmakers. By Hou Hsiao-hsien I've seen only Millennium Mambo and Three Times.
Bresson is one of my absolute favorites. I discovered him after Tarkovsky, who amazed me by convincing me for the first time that cinema can be art. Imagine my amazement when I found Bresson afterward saying cinematography has yet to begin?
Throughout his films, he seems to express imprisonment. Be it illness, despair, death, childhood (Mouchette, Le Diable) or literal incarceration, or even existence itself (most explicit in Au hasard Balthasar.)
It was a relief to find a filmmaker who didn’t rely on theatrical/dramatic acting. Bresson would tell his “models” to speak as if they are just speaking to themselves. And his idea of “movement” (greek literal definition of cinema) was impression (exterior->interior) rather than expression (interior->exterior). Instead of relying on the camera to establish space, Bresson instead believed it was sound that added the spacial dimension in cinematography. The image, for Bresson, on the other hand, was reacting to sound. Take note of this when watching his films. Sound seems to be the glue that connects the images to a specific order, which creates narrative.
Lancelot du Lac is his most daring film stylistically. For instance, I believe it’s his only film where he uses a zoom lens. And while in most of his films, the camera is mostly still and occasionally moves but very briefly and almost unnoticeable. In Lancelot, the camera moves around quite a bit. It was as if Bresson was finally releasing himself from all his stylistic inhibitions, which for his last two films, revealed a much more ethical/existential content than ontological/introspective previous films. As if he didn’t have to worry about style anymore, and could simply focus on the substance. Like how many writers take time to establish their style and reach a point where they finally know how to write, and from then on could prioritize the story.
L’argent might be his most perfect film. The one I cannot argue against, like A Man Escaped. Just perfect. But my personal favorite is Four Nights of a Dreamer. I don’t know why. I honestly don’t know. Like how my favorite film from Tarkovsky is Nostalghia. I just don’t know why.
Thank you so much for the analysis and recommendations, my friend! 😃 I wish I had read comments like yours before watching my first Bresson film; that would have given me the proper context.
About image and sound, I was reminded of something he said, I think in the same Q&A that is included in the Criterion release of L'Argent (and I'm paraphrasing, as usual): the cinema consists of two devices, one that lies (the camera) and one that tells the truth (the sound recorder).
I'm also a big fan of Four Nights of a Dreamer, I think because I love Dostoevsky's White Nights. I saw the film in French, with no subtitles. (Same thing with A Gentle Woman.) I totally agree with you regarding L'Argent. What a masterpiece.
I'll watch Lancelot du Lac one of these days, keeping your comments in mind. It sounds like an eccentric film in his oeuvre.
Wow. Tarkovsky and Bresson. Their cinema is their worldview. And vice versa. Thanks again, my friend. Best wishes!
For some reason i was always stuck with Devil Probably as my favorite and Money didn’t quite work for me because it’s so dead but i guess that is the point. I heard he was working sometimes on a final movie on the book of Genesis showing footprints of Adam and Eve
Wow, I didn't know that! I'll do some quick research. 😃 You're right about the dead quality of Money. The Devil Probably is, in my opinion, the best of his underrated films. I just found a copy of Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne, so I'll watch that soon. Thank you for watching and commenting, my friend, and have a fantastic day!
@@JorgesCorner It was just something my friend Peter Tonguette told me in IMs a long time ago. He's a film critic I think, if he's still active, but he usually covers American film, so I don't know where he heard it. Maybe it wasn't true.
French cinema... you make me nostalgic, Jorge, this reminds me of the time when I was living near an Arthouse Cinema... Arte, our French-German TV-channel broadcasts films by Bresson from time to time, last year : “Un condamné à mort s’est échappé”. But it’s not the same to watch movies on the big screen or on TV.
When I heard your reflections on “Le diable probablement” (a film I have not yet seen) I thought: wow, Bresson was really ahead of his time. The problems he deals with in this film (negative effects of pragmatism etc., as you call it) are even more urgent today than they were in the past.
Tausend Dank wie immer für Deine klugen Ausführungen und Zitate! 😃 - “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” - wow!
!Muchos saludos, querido amigo, und bis zum nächsten Mal!
You're so right about the big screen vs. TV, Merle! 😃 A few years ago I had the chance to see Baisers volés, one of my favorite films ever, at a small movie theatre, and it was a much better experience. The same thing with some films by Kurosawa, during a retrospective of his work. But yes, as much as I love the film, it is unfortunate how Le diable probablement has remained so relevant. I recommend it, though Un condamné à mort s'est échappé is probably a more "important" and more "representative" film. Ich liebe dieses Zitat von Villeneuves Arrival. Toller Film! Tausend Dank für den Besuch und die Bemerkungen! ¡Muchos saludos, querida amiga, y será hasta pronto! 😊
It's 1:44 a.m in Brazil and I've just discovered this channel. Love at first sight!
Muito obrigado, Nicodemos! 😃 I'm so glad you're enjoying it, my friend. Viva Brasil! 🇧🇷
Okay so talking about the difference in a colour vs b&w Bresson and using the transition of Bergman as an example is exactly true - at least imo as well.
Absolutely, my friend! 😃 He was such a big fan of Bergman that in his list of top 10 films there are three by the Swedish filmmaker: Wild Strawberries, Winter Light, and Persona. I always say my favorite Bergman is Wild Strawberries subjectively speaking, and Persona objectively speaking. Thank you for watching and commenting, and have a fantastic weekend!
Thank you for your wonderful analysis of this work. Very helpful.
Thank you so much, my friend! 😃 So glad you enjoyed it. Have a wonderful day!
Excelente video, me ayudó muchísimo a entender las intenciones detrás de esta película, porque es la primera que veo de Bresson y la verdad es que me dejó algo descolocado porque no estoy acostumbrado a estilos como el suyo 😅. Las actuaciones desabridas y la falta de emoción en los diálogos ahora cobran sentido gracias a lo que mencionaste sobre los métodos actorales que Bresson utilizaba. Saludos desde México.
¡Mil gracias, César! 😃 Me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado el video. Mi primera experiencia con Bresson fue exactamente igual a la tuya. 😄 Te recomiendo sus otras películas, si no las has visto, especialmente Au Hasard Balthazar, L'Argent y Pickpocket. (Entre paréntesis, Pink Floyd es una banda excelente y mi album favorito es Wish You Were Here.) ¡Muchos saludos, amigo, y viva México! 🇲🇽
@@JorgesCorner Genial! 😃 definitivamente tengo que verlas. Y ah que chingón! Yo estaría entre Animals y Wish you were here jaja. Ambos son mis favoritos de Pink Floyd.
¡Animals, sí! Está espectacular también. Qué buena banda. 😃
Hello, I have just discovered your channel and I just loved it.
Me gustó mucho desde la introducción directa y sín preámbulo innecesarios los comentarios y explicaciones de los libros y las películas el manejo del inglés soltó el acento en la forma clara de hablar. Ya he escuchado el día de hoy tres reseñas y ahora estoy con las películas. Me gustarían más reseñas en español. Muchos Saludos desde Italia y espero que leas mi comentario
¡Muchísimas gracias por la visita y por tus comentarios, Cecilia! 😃 Me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado el canal. Tengo pensado subir más contenido en español, especialmente para mis series "Cuentos memorables" y "Novelas indispensables". ¡Muchos saludos, y gracias nuevamente!
Subbed
Thank you so much, my friend! 😃 Welcome to Jorge's Corner!
RB is utterly outside the movie industry, with its stupid fixation on entertainment. I think his handling of the performers is to that end. Just great how far he went with his rejection of the weak, compromised form called cinema - which Bresson shows didn't have to turn out that way.
Excellent point, my friend! It's part of what makes Bresson great, and one of the reasons why his art has survived that of so many of his colleagues. Thank you for stopping by, and have a great day! 😃
Interesting that you overlook my diss of movies. I don't believe you don't mind that. Bresson transcends that, and produces work that has the aesthetic weight of a good fine arts exhibition, which is a stroke of genius or insight on his part.@@JorgesCorner
I watch all sorts of films, but I can totally relate to your perspective. At one point in my life, I became bored by mainstream movies. That's when I began to explore the work of Bresson. What other films/filmmakers do you recommend that transcend entertainment?
It's beyond transcending entertainment for me. It's about not being an industry person, which is almost impossible. Jean-Marie Straub qualifies. So did
Jean Renoir in his European work, more benignly than Straub. It's basically about films resembling advertising, which Renoir called the cancer of society. Ozu and Hou Hsiao-hsien are both Industry people, but their very rare 'fine arts' aesthetic strengths offset it effectively enough for their work to shine forth. Otherwise the game is manipulation and exploitation of the viewer, as in advertising.@@JorgesCorner
Thank you for the recommendations! It's becoming increasingly difficult to find contemporary films that do not subscribe to the advertising aesthetics. I will check out the work of Jean-Marie Straub. By Renoir I've seen Grand Illusion, The Rules of the Game, The River, and French Cancan. I've seen lots of films by Ozu; he's one of my favorite filmmakers. By Hou Hsiao-hsien I've seen only Millennium Mambo and Three Times.