Angels of the Streets

Solid debut doesn't display the same stylistic brilliance Bresson showed from 1957 onwards, but it's a well made film that explores some familiar Bressonian themes within the confines of a more conventional story. It's surprisingly fast paced given the subject matter, and the acting is strong across the board, proving that Bresson could coax dramatically pleasing performances from actors when and _if_ he wanted to. The ending is perhaps too contrived, but it's strangely satisfying just the same.

Contrary to what you might expect from a 1943 movie about nuns in a convent, Les Anges du Peche is fast, intense and gripping. It is perhaps the best-written movie I've ever seen; nearly every line of dialogue teems with moral and emotional insights; explored with great wisdom are themes of duty and individuality, sin and redemption, love, jealousy and resentment, pride and shame. I am not sure if ever there was as forceful a feature debut as Bresson's.

Bresson crafts films to the point that almost escapes any level of criticism. I feel no different with his debut.

A very interesting debut from Bresson which is surprisingly full of life considering his later work. Ostensibly a film about nuns in a convent, Bresson uses the setting to show a variety of very human character traits. I've got to admit I kind of missed Bresson's unique style, although there were many small glimses of it throughout the film. Still, whatever the film lacks in visual style it more than makes up for with deep and compelling characterizations and a great story.

A complex, intense, ambiguous relationship develops between two women, each involved in her own complex, intense, ambiguous struggle with the universe. With an idea provided by priest and resistance fighter Bruckberger, and dialogue by writer and minister of information Giraudoux, Bresson fashions this as a subtle and evocative exploration of the complexities, intensities and ambiguities of the energies and tragedies entailed by the relationships humans have to one another and to the “infinite”.

Being somewhat familiar with Bresson's later work (I haven't seen very many but I feel I've seen enough to know his style) I was surprised by how emotional and, well, non-Bressonian this was. This is a very well crafted and ambitious debut; there are an impressive number of thematic concerns (faith, love, redemption, duty and more) all handled sensitively and intelligently, strong performances and characterization, and the story is simple but quietly engaging.

on the vanity of charity, among other things.

Bresson's first feature contains several passages of his unique, visually-oriented poetry, particularly in his attempts to show identification between the two leads. The redemptive narrative arc fits in well with Bresson's early career, even if he relies on dialogue more here than he does once his style matures. The depth, fluidity, and mise-en-scene of the final sequence surprises in its impact, which is considerable, a result of a masterful talent honing his craft.

Hard to find Bresson's trademark style here, though for a first feature it's quite well-made. Would be very curious to see if anyone smarter than me also detected some romantic undertones between the two protagonists and their complementary searches for fulfillment.

Robert Bresson #1

Contains a lot of bresson's themes without much of the style that would come to define his aesthetic (music everywhere for example), but he still makes it work.

"It is evident," philosophers tend to argue, "that whether "5 + 7 = 12" is an analytic or a synthetic judgement - it is precise". I myself, don't care for this mambo jambo anymore, but if one thing could be said about this movie it is that it is even more precise than a mathematical equation.

Quite good, but I feel it suffers from simplistic characterisation combined with a moralising tone, and that tends towards somewhat arbitrary, as opposed to compelling, insights.

Bresson's first feature film, and all about nuns, so I figured it wouldn't hold my interest. But it turned out to be quite a compelling story that covers a lot of ground.

Anjos das Ruas estreava há 80 anos na Paris ocupada. Qualquer outro dia eu seria benevolente e compreensiva com a carolice do Bresson, mas passei o dia lendo e ouvindo o Roberto Piva (um anti-Bresson por excelência) e não estou no humor. MKO.

Honestly, after 10 consecutive French films, I'm feeling a little French-fatigue. That didn't stop me from enjoying the quality nun/crime drama called Les anges du péché [Angels of Sin] (1943). But it stops me from writing much more about it.