There’s some connection between Pickpocket and my recent “Mailmen of Truth” post. Bresson’s camera shows us not only the owners of objects who hide their valuables in wallets and their wallets in pockets, but also the secret operators circulating in their midst who find the hidden objects, extract them from their hiding places, and appropriate them.
In this movie, inside/outside and surface/depth isn’t metaphorical but topological, referring not to people but to what they wear: the pinstriped fabric of the suit vis-a-vis the inside jacket pocket. The characters themselves are opaque; the acting, as flat as possible. Bresson hired non-actors, then had them repeat each scene again and again until the performances became nearly robotic, or perhaps hypnotic.
There’s some connection between Pickpocket and my recent “Mailmen of Truth” post. Bresson’s camera shows us not only the owners of objects who hide their valuables in wallets and their wallets in pockets, but also the secret operators circulating in their midst who find the hidden objects, extract them from their hiding places, and appropriate them.
Comment by ktismatics — 11 December 2012 @ 10:40 am
In this movie, inside/outside and surface/depth isn’t metaphorical but topological, referring not to people but to what they wear: the pinstriped fabric of the suit vis-a-vis the inside jacket pocket. The characters themselves are opaque; the acting, as flat as possible. Bresson hired non-actors, then had them repeat each scene again and again until the performances became nearly robotic, or perhaps hypnotic.
Comment by ktismatics — 11 December 2012 @ 1:01 pm