Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959): France

Reviewed by Emelie Eriksson. Viewed at AFI Filmfest Hollywood 2013.

Robert Bresson’s “Pickpocket” stands out from other films I’ve seen. There weren’t so much talking and conversations through out the movie, but still there was a lot of things to be said.

A man named Michael (Martin LaSalle) is about to commit a crime. He wants to steal another man’s wallet. He sees himself so special that he has the right to steal from others. But what’s the meaning of his stealing? A good friend named Jeanne (Marika Green) still sees the good in him and believes that he can change, but can he really? He doesn’t to it for the money, he does it for the feelings you get while commiting his crime. Besides Jeanne, he thinks that his friend Jacques (Pierre Leymarie) and the police knows what he’s up to. He gets in to a partnership with two other men and together they become really great, but the question is, will the police catch him?

The star of “Pickpocket”, Martin LaSalle, does a outstanding job playing Michel. He’s always wearing a hard and cold face expression, but you can see through his eyes those times he actually shows some emotions. He lives in a worn and poor apartment but is always wearing a suit and tie, maybe so that he can disappear in a crowd. Everything he did, he did slowely. It’s a black and white movie which was perfect for this type of film, it felt old-fashioned and well executed. You get a good understanding of how pickpocketing works through closeups of hands, pockets, wallets and faces. You get to see teamwork on a whole other level and their work has the timing, grace and precision that is just outstanding. Bresson likes to film his actors straight on, so that we are looking at them and they are looking at us.

You can compare pickpocketing with ballet – they both need to be precise in their movements and everything must be done gracefully. That’s how I feel about this film, it was graceful and slow, but it was still entertaining. It was interesting to see how they were thinking and how easy it acutally is to steal something from a pocket. When I walked out on the streets after I actually hold on to my wallet a bit harder. I recommend this film to people how like older films and people who are a bit patient.