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Christian Patey,
Christian Patey,
Sylvie van den Elsen,
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Robert Bresson,
Robert Bresson
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: New Yorker Video
: Drama, Foreign, Politics and Social Issues, France, Classic Crime, Crime, Classic Crime
: 81 min.
: English, French
: English
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The last film by veteran writer/director Robert Bresson, the French crime drama L'Argent (Money) was based on a short story by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. Looking for some quick cash, young man Norbert (Marc Ernest Fourneau) gets a phony 500 franc note from his friend Matrial (Bruno Lapeyre). After he spends it at a photography shop, the unscrupulous shop owner (Didier Baussy) decides to pass it on to someone else. The unfortunate victim is honest delivery man Yvon Targe (Christian Patey), who doesn't realize the bill is a fake. When he tries to buy some food with it, he is arrested. He tries to sue the photographer, but shop assistant Lucien (Vincent Risterucci) has been bribed to stay quiet about the transaction. The scandal causes Yvon to lose his job. In order to support his family, he tries driving a getaway car for some criminals. Unfortunately, their heist doesn't go so well, and he is sent to prison for three years. While incarcerated, his child dies of diphtheria and his wife (Caroline Lang) leaves him. Crazed, Yvon turns to theft, violent crime, and eventually cold-blooded murder. L'Argent earned (Bresson) the Director's Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
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| Zombie-land (but go ahead, if you're a big Bresson fan)
by talltale
June 20, 2005 - 1:44 PM PDT
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5 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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Robert Bresson's final film, though beloved by some, strikes me as not perhaps the best possible exit piece for this one-of-a-kind director. L'ARGENT--from a Tolstoy story with a better title than the all-purpose "Money" used here--shows the later Bresson, far into his my-interest-is-youth period, as described by the critic who did the commentary track, Kent Jones.
Unfortunately, the farther into his career that this director ventured (his later films were the first that I viewed, which is why it took added years before I could appreciate him), the performances of his cast members apprear more like those of the "extras" in a George Romero epic. That is to say, zombie-like. Some fans/critics have taken this to signify reality--which it does not begin to resemble. It does make one wonder, though: Did Bresson never pay attention to the way people--particularly young people--actually behave? Any quirky tic and odd manner of conduct are dispensed with (and I'm sorry but we ALL have these), leaving an unreal void in their place.
The story itself is pretty interesting: What appears initially to be the old "piece of money moves from hand to hand" plot turns out to be different and far-reaching. In place of his usual redemption theme, as Jones points out, the director has moved into the area of disgrace and ruin. If you're a Bresson fan, you won't want to miss this, but I warn you up front that you'll have to forgive quite a lot. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.40)
30 Votes
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