Constructed as a flashback from news reports of a young mans suspicious suicide, robert bresson s splenetic 1977 drama puts the post1968 world on trial and judges it unlivable. Six months previously, apparently tired of watching films of cute baby seals being clubbed to death. Apr 18, 2012 bressons bleakest, most controversial film, 1977s the devil, probably has been among the greatest beneficiaries of the critical reevaluation that has taken place since james quandt. Oct 10, 2007 robert bresson s films may be all those things, says gilbert adair, but the real beauty is in their simplicity g i l b e r t a d a i r published on wed 10 oct 2007 06. Often described as a painter of films, french director robert bresson was one of cinemas greatest anomalies. Bresson is among the most highly regarded filmmakers of. They talk, and agree to see each other again the next night. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup.
Guy maddin twilight of the ice nymphs 1997 february 20, 2019. The thought of it seeps through the mind of the country priest during night of agony. His works include lancelot du lac and largent and he has won major prizes and unrestrained critical acclaim. Then, on the same day, he is condemned to death, and given a new cellmate. Every transition or cut is backedup with a smooth use of sound design that weaves the fragmented story and places into one whole. The devil probably le diable probablement 1977 rotten. Le diable probablement life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration. Aside from the themes it discusses like anticapitalism, religion, environmental pollution and destruction, as well as the rebelling on being just another dot in society obeying its normative orders as anyone else. A forged 500franc note is passed from person to person until carelessness leads to tragedy. Constructed as a flashback from news reports of a young mans suspicious suicide, robert bressons splenetic 1977 drama puts the post1968 world on trial and judges it unlivable. Robert bresson a work of archival criticism that forgoes the language of rigour for that of rapture. Le diable probablement is a 1977 french drama film by director robert bresson. Charles antoine monnier, a quietly imperious sensualist of blazing intelligence, lives idly in a bare garret and does little but brazenly chase women.
So years pass, of course, but i identified with the young, embittered frenchman, knew his almost complacent. After his detour camelotway in lancelot du lac 1974 the film posits the same bleak and nihilistic agenda this time through the story of a group of students in paris who are presented as. Robert bresson trained as a painter before moving into films as a screenwriter, making a short film. A year later, after the release of the devil probably, and at the urging of stephane tchalgadjieff, his producer, bresson relented and agreed to let film comment publish the interview. Robert bresson le diable probablement aka the devil. Im sure its one hell of a book for creative people. Hoberman wrote in village voice, to not get bresson is to not get the idea of motion picturesits to have missed that train the lumiere brothers filmed arriving at lyon station 110 years ago. Robert bresson 101 the films of robert bresson are daunting, no doubt. It was entered into the 27th berlin international film festival, where it won the silver bear special jury prize. This is robert bresson le diable probablement aka the devil, probably excerpt by pietro milan on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the. See more ideas about robert bresson, cinema and french films.
Bresson s movies a movie of robert bresson s showed a yacht, at evening on the seine, all its lights on, watched by two young, seemingly poor people, on a bridge adjacent, the classic boy and girl of the story, any one one cares to tell. The way we were 1973 free download cinema of the world. Many distinguished critics regard the devil probably as a masterpiece, and one of bresson s greatest films. Francois leterrier, charles le clainche, maurice beerblock. Its absolutely something worth mentioning, because it often does not get the praise it should have. Robert bresson s the devil, probably, which gets its belated chicago premiere friday, is among the last masterworks of one of the centurys great filmmakers. Arthurs knights, far from being heroic, are conniving and greedy men who, just before the film starts, have failed miserably to find the holy grail. I have recently seen again the late robert bresson s penultimate film le diable probablement the devil probably and today, september 25th, being his birthday, i thought i would send out my reflections upon it. Lancelot du lac 1974 rarefilmm the cave of forgotten. His films are not easy to find on the big screen, which is why this complete retrospective at the film center of the art institute, running through may 9, is a landmark.
Jan 06, 2012 the devil probably 1977 shot in color among the disillusioned, longhaired youth of post60s paris, bresson s nexttolast film remains controversial, viewed by some critics as a classic study. Mosaic of interlocking characters, whose stories keep crossing throughout the film au hasard, balthazar, largent documentary elements within fiction trial record. Pickpocket 1959 opening scene martin lasalle youtube. The film f or many, robert bresson s final work, largent 1983, is a perfect formal and thematic culmination of the filmmakers sporadic, but consistently provocative career. Practically every one is a masterpiece, and 1977s the devil, probably. Robert bresson celebrity profile check out the latest robert bresson photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Charles drifts through politics, religion and psychoanalysis, rejecting them all. Robert bresson active 1933 2004 born sep 25, 1901 died dec 18, 1999 genres drama overview v. I have recently seen again the late robert bressons penultimate film le diable probablement the devil probably and today, september 25th, being his birthday, i thought i would send out my reflections upon it. Robert bresson, the sublime minimalist part 12 the devil, probably 1977 france robert bresson suicide has been a looming shadow in bresson s works from the very beginning to the end. Michel is released from jail after serving a sentence for thievery. Pickpocket exerted a formative influence over the work of paul schrader, who has described it as an unmitigated masterpiece and as close to perfect as there can be, and whose films american gigolo, patty hearst, and light sleeper all include endings similar to that of pickpocket. Lancelot du lac 1974 rarefilmm the cave of forgotten films.
Gradually, he discovers that her lover promised to meet her on the bridge that night. Dec 26, 2016 i left out the message saying that this movie is not meant to be a thriller prior to this scene but that just makes these scenes more impactful. Jan 04, 2012 there is a moment at the end of robert bressons penultimate film, the devil, probably 1977, when charles antoine monnier, a young man who has decided on suicide as an abstaining vote. His standing as one of cinemas patron saints marks his work as genuinely intimidating. The image most associated with the french film director robert bresson, who has died aged 92, was that of an austere, pessimistic critic, a jansenist at odds with the modern world. Known for his ascetic approach, bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema. The words of the preacher, the son of david, king in jerusalem. Mark rappaport the vanity tables of douglas sirk 2015 july 28, 2015. As the devil, probably begins, we see newspaper reports of a teen found dead by gunshot wound. Undeniably, the devil, probably has a new way of capturing discontent.
Bressons work celebrated at film center interviews roger. Jan 01, 1975 robert bresson notes on the cinematographer is my philosophy book or selfhelp book for putting things together in what i feel, or need, to be real in stories, images, moments. The devil, probably is also surprisingly diffuse for bresson, though viewers acclimated to the elliptical storytelling in lancelot du lac, as well as the dreamy, erotic longueurs in four nights of a dreamer, are less likely to be traumatized by the way bresson frequently takes leave of charles, the dartagnanesque youth at the center of the. Robert bresson was born at bromontlamothe in central france. A man escaped 1956, mouchette 1967, and the devil, probably 1977. Robert bresson director biography madman entertainment. Lancelot du lac 1974 aka lancelot of the lake a million miles away from camelot or excalibur, this film ruthlessly strips the arthurian legend down to its barest essentials. Robert bresson, a filmlecture series that considers three films in depth. The devil, probably is surely one of the most schizoid film in bresson s career. Robert bresson, the lonely giant of the french cinema, is dead the director, whose austere masterpieces evoked praise but little imitation, died saturday in paris at 98, after a long illness that inspired retrospectives and tributes at the film center of the art institute of chicago and in toronto, london, edinburgh and tokyo. I think the devil, probably is an affirmative and joyful film which does subtly intuit the incomprehensible through its sound, images, rhythms.
Robert bresson was master of understatement interviews. It was entered into the 27th berlin international film festival, where it won the silver. The devil, probably 1977 directed by robert bresson. If you subscribed via the website, you can enter the order number from your subscription confirmation email in place of your customer number. In his ruthlessly cleareyed final film, french master robert bresson pushed his unique blend of spiritual rumination and formal rigor to a new level of astringency. The son of an army officer, bresson initially trained as an artist before turning to the cinema, and he made his first film, a short comedy entitled les affaires publiques, in 1934. From the start, a newspaper tells us about a suicide. Besides les anges du peche, its bressons only film not adapted from or based on a previous work. Some sources list 1907 as the year of birth one as 1909, but my research suggests that 1901 is correct. Charles antoine monnier, a quietly imperious sensualist of blazing intelligence, lives idly in. Robert bresson le diable probablement 1977 download. Transposing a tolstoy novella to contemporary paris, largent follows a counterfeit bill as it originates as a prop in a schoolboy prank, then circulates like a virus among the corrupt and the virtuous alike before landing with. In the devil probably, the cause of death of a young man is upgraded from suicide to murder. Details of bressons early years are sketchy, though it is known that he began painting in high school, where he excelled in languages and philosophy.
Robert bresson is a rare genius of the cinema, little known to the public, although serious movie lovers discover him sooner or later. Robert bresson s 1977 meditation on the state of the contemporary world the devil, probably le diable probablement is his twelfth and penultimate film. Robert bresson great director profile senses of cinema. The trial of joan of arc, film about environmental destruction.
The devil, probably is one of robert bresson s deepest, most compelling dramas, worth remembering for far more than its controversial subject matter. He directed only films over the course of 40 years, but these films were in a category all their own, minimalist works that tended towards radical and sometimes controversial reinterpretations of such classical sources as diderot, dostoyevsky, and tolstoy. Robert bresson, french writerdirector who, despite his limited output, has been rightly celebrated as one of the cinemas few authentic geniuses. Robert bresson le diable probablement aka the devil, probably 1977 september 27, 2017. Robert bresson is french cinema, as dostoevsky is the russian novel and mozart is the german music. Sep 08, 2019 lancelot du lac 1974 aka lancelot of the lake a million miles away from camelot or excalibur, this film ruthlessly strips the arthurian legend down to its barest essentials. Robert bresson, possibly interview by paul schrader. The same way bresson absolves the sins of his catatonic youths in the devil, probably by portraying a modern world that doesnt regard people as individuals with humanity, bresson doesnt seem to relish his cinematic portrayal in largent of how easy it is for society and life to turn a onceproductive citizen into a monster. As usual in bressons mature films, the trial of joan of arc stars nonprofessional performers and is filmed in an extremely spare, restrained style. Louis, paris, overlooking the seine and in the shadow. Robert bresson scenario and dialogue, andre devigny memoir stars. This uncompromising late career masterpiece from bresson is deeply disturbing yet strangely elating, and one of the greatest works by one of the. The dreamer is jacques, a young painter, who by chance runs into marthe as shes contemplating suicide on the pontneuf in paris.