210

I was into it like few other Bresson's till the end bits. Again, the Dostoyevsky influence appears, and again, it comes up short.

What Bresson does well (what Hannake in a sense has capitalized on since), is to make the action seem more violent, than it would have been - had we seen it. As with Hanneke, you have this feeling, that you have done something terrible, but you have no clue what it is. The lack of moral judgement, and because you really can't place guilt anywhere, the film becomes a monster of conflicting emotions, that burns through your skin in a biblical way. Did anyone say the book of Job?

#228

L'argent challenges the notion of inherited wisdom of filmic drama through its presentation of free-thinking, yet formal, moral inquisitiveness and deliberate erection of striking images. Ably evoking not just the soulfulness of his own Au hasard Balthazar but also the artistry of the great Jean-Luc Godard (think Detective or Oh, Woe Is Me), Bresson helms a triumph of expressionistic French cinema. Without even attempting to grandstand, this director achieves greatness.

Not very entertaining - Besson employs wooden actors for technique

# 222

A film about the corrupting power of money, made using Bresson's minimalist style. I can certainly appreciate what the film is trying to do and there's a lot to hold your interest, but the narrative falls flat. It's very choppy and the final act feels especially out of the blue. Yes, this film's main purpose is not to convey a story but rather ideas, which is why it's worth watching, but it's possible to do both, and the film's failure to make the story work lessens the impact of the message.

My favorite of Bresson's films.

I used to have problems with the main character's motivations in the final act, and that's still an issue for me, but I have a deeper appreciation of the film's finer aspects. Bresson's meticulous attention to detail and physicality, the beautiful framing, the poetic simplicity, the understated acting.

Bresson's so called "search for truth" ends up in pretension and awkwardness. It has great material to play with, messed up by petty artistic meanderings.

Austere and stylized vision is not exactly to my taste.

201