Pickpocket 195910/31/2023 (Schrader obviously thought he was being clever by giving Gere a large closet stuffed with designer suits). Instead of preening Richard Gere, we get acting novice Martin LaSalle as the Pickpocket, who wears one suit through the entire film. The subject of Bresson's film is not nearly as sexy a conception as Schrader's gigolo, though the milieu is equally as sleazy. And it goes without saying that Schrader's *American Gigolo*, which he also directed, is a virtual rewrite of *Pickpocket*, right down to the egregiously plagiarized finale. and, most completely, writer-director Paul Schrader, who, you'll recall, wrote the *Taxi Driver* screenplay, which was another story about a loner on the outside of societal norms. *Pickpocket* sowed its seeds of influence in the minds of any number of film artists - Jean-Pierre Melville most notably (who despised Bresson, apparently), whose *Le Samourai* was a mighty struggle against this film. Probably the most influential of Robert Bresson's trio of masterpieces from the Fifties (the other two being *A Man Escaped* and, of course, *Diary of a Country Priest*). I think I like Pickpocket a little more, but I may like it even more on another viewing. While the hero has only one determination in Man Escaped, to get out, Pickpocket has a man who doesn't know what to do with himself, only coming to a genuine catharsis behind bars. Like A Man Escaped, there is that sort of dissection, quietly and without really digging too deep, into what a man wants with his life, or doesn't want. Was I rooting for him, or just pleased by the pay-off of Bresson's suspense? Maybe both there is definitely one truly virtuoso sequence in the film, when the pickpockets go on the train. At times I almost had a grin as he made some successful grabs, by himself or his cohorts. He is a decent person, but there are certain things that get to him, which is why he feels he must steal. Indeed, the actor who plays the protagonist here is actually very good, aside from the disconnection, and provides an excellent way for us to get along his side. Whatever it sets up for this actor to do, it sets up well. And yet, this is really made up tenfold with the sort of style that can be likely called Bressonian straightforward angles, tense medium close-ups, serene editing, and little to no music. But my only minor nitpick with the film is that it leaves a sort of cold viewing on a viewer, with such simplicity and emotions stripped from the character(s) that it's hard to connect. Bresson's use of the camera is often intoxicating in the most subdued, subtle, in-direct distinctions at times it does take on the prowess of literature. Robert Bresson's Pickpocket has many great moments, even as it didn't quite do it for me on a first viewing as a 'masterpiece'(some have said to see it twice, perhaps I will). Indeed the actors and actress express no sentiments and the plot is very weird. The beauty of Marika Green is impressive and she seems to love Michel since the very beginning but again her feelings are never clear. The development of the lead character Michel is confused and it is clear that he is a troubled, lonely and anguished unemployed young man, but it is never clear the motives why he is addicted in stealing since he shows no ambition or dream or love. This is the first time that I have watched"Pickpocket" and I expected much more from this famous movie. Michel decides to help her and find an honest job but in a horse race, he is tempted by his addiction with tragic consequences. Later he travels overseas to get rid of the observation of the police, but two years later he returns to Paris and finds Jeanne alone, with her son with Jacques after a brief love affair. After the death of his mother, Michel teams-up with two smalltime thieves despite the permanent surveillance of the local police inspector (Jean Pélégri). His only friends are Jacques (Pierre Leymarie), who tries to help him to find a job, and his mother's next door neighbor Jeanne (Marika Green). In Paris, the lonely and anguished pickpocket Michel (Martin La Salle) lives in a dirty little room and spends his time stealing wallets and purses in public spaces.
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