Favorite Bresson Film?
 

I suspect this will get about as much milage as my Cassavetes poll, but here goes. My vote is for Mouchette, though Balthazar comes in a close second. Nadine Nortier's performance is so heartfelt and genuine. When she finds momentary happiness in the wonderfully edited bumper car sequence, a quick smile flashing on her face, the moment is quite poignant, since we know that any brief flicker of joy in her life is going to be fleeting.

L'Argent
The Devil, Probably
Lancelot du Lac
Mouchette
Au hasard Balthazar
The Trail of Joan of Arc
Pickpocket
A Man Escaped
Diary of a Country Priest
Other - The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne, A Gentle Woman, Four Nights of a Dreamer, Angels of the Streets, Public Affairs

I'm still waiting for 4 of the 5 Other titles to get English-friendly releases. I know New Yorker owns the rights to A Gentle Woman. The versions of Four Nights I've come across have all been borderline unwatchable.

1) Au hasard Balthazar
2) Pickpocket
3) Mouchette
4) Diary of a Country Priest

have yet to see the others.

only seen Au hasard Balthasar which i recently bought during the DD b1g1 criterion sale so i cant really vote but i gotta say t was a very fine film. I got Mouchette and Pickpocket n my netflix queue now.

Au hasard Balthazar

Pickpocket

I like cheese and rural piousness so I went with the last film on the list.

While his work definitely connects with me on an emotional level (except for Mouchette, which left me somewhat cold) Balthazar is the one that absolutely destroys me each time I watch it, and it's my favorite of the six that I've seen.

L'Argent and A Man Escaped would be my two other choice picks.

I will probably go with Diary of a Country Priest because it has a sentimental value. It was my first Bresson film and my first French film. My initial reaction was "what the hell have I been watching?" but nevertheless I was left intrigued and mesmerized by the film, especially Bresson's 'model', narration, and editing. It's interesting to how Bresson viewed his narration in A Man Escaped to be redundant and discarded it afterwards.

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/889/cap4mz6.jpg
Here's a little trivia (imdb): Marika Green, she's the aunt of Eva Green.

My top 5:
1. The Devil, Probably
2. Pickpocket
3. Au Hasard Balthazar
4. A Man Escaped
5. L'Argent

Au hasard Balthazar

I guess i'm in the minority because Mouchette does nothing for me.

I have never seen any of these film if one was to see any of them.
What should I see first?

Leon.

Oh, wait...

<b>Au hasard Balthasar</b>

I've never seen any of these movies.

I will view whichever one gets the most votes :D

It shouldn't be <b>Lancelot du Lac</b>.

Au hasard Balthazar. About as moving as film can be.

I have seen most of those (I have not seen Pickpocket, Diary..., and Trial...) and the only one that wasn't either muddled or catatonically acted was the fabulous A Man Escaped. I celebrate Bresson's ascetic visual style but loathe his (purposeful?) narrative obfuscation and rigorously emotion-starved treatment of characters.

I'm very embarrassed to say that I have yet to see a Bresson film. :doh:

For me, each of these three characteristics of Bresson's work are necessary for the films to be successful as unified wholes - the minimalist directorial style goes hand in hand with the unaffected, almost flat performances.

I'm a bit of a slave to realism when it comes to dramas. I prefer them to reflect life, or at least play out in coherent fashion with established - not unintroduced and anonymous - characters. People who wander in and out of the movie frame not relating to each other at all, casually or otherwise, have no resemblance to my version of reality. In the prison setting of A Man Escaped, Bresson finally found a suitable venue for his particular outlook on human interaction.

15 total votes so far? Aye Carumba!

For those keeping score at home, it's currently Cassavetes 20 Bresson 15.

I'm not sure, but I like the sound of that "DAIRY of a Country Priest" in the poll.

Metaphysical milk, perhaps? Cranial cream cheese? Spiritual skim?

An udder failure on my part, I apologize.

Re: Favorite Bresson Film?
 

Bumping, but this appears to be the most recent Bresson thread.

Finally watched my first Bresson film, Au Hasard Balthazar. Incredibly moving, still soaking it all in. This may end up at the top of my favorite movies of all time list. Anxious to see some of his other work now.