Robert Bresson began as a painter. He directed his first film at 42, and did only 14 despite living until 98 (1999). Last night I watched his last, L'Argent (1983), translated as Money on the Netflix DVD. It is the story of a young oil delivery worker who is given a counterfeit 500 franc note as payment. It instigates a downward spiral that sees him lose his job and family, and leads to far, far worse. Based on Faux Billet (The Forged Coupon), a short story by Tolstoy, it is a bleak but fascinating depiction of mankind. Since it is only 85 minutes, I turned to a video essay in the special features section, hoping it would be illuminating. It was. The narrator, obviously a cinephile, has seen the film many times. He goes into great detail in what he thought Bresson was trying to accomplish in many shots. Although the story is solid, this is clearly a work for filmmakers to study. Bresson is quoted as saying: "Cinematography: a new way of writing, therefore of feeling." The technique is unusual, the focus often on hands and feet, the action, violence, taking place off screen, background sounds amplified, frames influenced by still life art. To someone so focused on story such as I, these aspects go unappreciated, if not entirely missed. Bresson also used non-actors to achieve a flat, real life feel. He succeeded in that respect in L'Argent. Christian Patey has only three titles under his name at IMDb, Vincent Risterucci three, and Sylvie Van den Elsen eleven. All three debuted in L'Argent. For his effort, Bresson was named Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. It is unique storytelling, perhaps purist cinema. Fortunately, L'Argent is captivating despite its grim view of humanity. And it isn't obviously arty. I've seen at least two other of Bresson's works and have only a vague though positive recollection of them. 5000+ users at IMDb have rated L'Argent, forging to a consensus of 7.5 on a scale of ten. I wouldn't argue with that. I'm glad I didn't allow the views of its detractors on Netflix dissuade me from adding it to my viewing list. Here's a still of the now ancient ATM used in the film:
From Yahoo's Odd News, in my own words: A Colorado Springs police officer heading to an accident scene had an unexpected passenger - a raccoon. It jumped onto the front windshield and stayed there until the officer pulled over.
My thanks to the gentleman who purchased The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fishing Basics by Mike Toth, and to the elderly woman who bought two paperback thrillers. It may be fall on the calendar, but it sure felt like summer.
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