Notes on Three Films by Robert Bresson – Presentation Script

Critics’ and Observers’ Focus on Robert Bresson’s Masterpieces

Critics and observers alike have focused on Robert Bresson’s masterpieces because of how horrifying and horrible they are. This could be a contributing factor to his lengthy French cinema career since 1943. (Quandt 369).

Bresson’s Paradox and Singularity

Bresson’s paradox and singularity are captivating and highly seductive. The contradictions that are most obviously drawn from his works include the following: Bresson is a Catholic filmmaker, but the church considers his movies to be oppressive and isolating. Second, there is no causal connection between an action’s cause and effect, good and evil, or the portrayal of God hidden behind Bresson’s imagery. Critics and commentators have different interpretations for Robert Bresson’s works. For example, Malle interprets one of Robert Bresson’s films, pickpocket, as an allegory which signifies the fall and rise of man, meaning, redemption. On the other hand, Sontag describes the Pickpocket film as a journey from some form of emotional confusion. However, the true nature of Bresson’s Films tends to shy off from the Christian beliefs and norms. They point mainly to the mysterious things in Christianity which are considered to be of some gothic nature (Quandt 370).

Bresson’s Films and the Break from the Psychological

Bresson’s films have a break in link to the psychological; there are more linked to the spiritual. Therefore, this attributes his works to those of the Lacanian psychoanalysis. In lacanian psychoanalysis, the spiritual is represented but the psychological is eliminated. Lacan presents man as a submitting being to physical objects which transcends him. Man’s true nature is revealed in the psychological and philosophical perspective as a being who wills his nature (Quandt 371). This is essentially the break in link in Robert Bresson’s films and the more reason the church fails to cite objectivity in his films.

Lacan’s Language and Bresson’s Dislocation

Lacan attributes language to touch not only on the unsayable but also, as a mechanism for the production of senses. That is, making sense of the physical (Quandt 371). Bresson’s films are majorly based on a dislocation of question and answers, and that of asking and being asked back. These films tend to explain the phenomena considered unnatural in society and most mystical while at the same time, critiquing events and the reasons as to why things are as they appear to be. Therefore, Bresson’s films tend to transcend between reality and abstraction, and in reality, individuals, mostly Christians, conform only to the reality of the soul (Quandt 374).

The Controversial Paradoxes in Bresson’s Films

Michel Estève speaks of the film Pickpocket as montage. This is where the line, the silence of the soul, is signified to mean the silence and absence of God. This is entirely untrue in the metaphysical context. There are various paradoxes in Bresson’s films that are considered to be controversial by the church and chronicle some form of conflict with the bigger Christian belief and priesthood. The cross acts as a meeting point between psychoanalytic and theological. To the Christians, the cross is the convergence of their faith and clinical practice. The cross in the Journal is depicted as a symbol in which the priest leaves his body, though not entirely physical, and gets separated from his fellow parishioners (Quandt 375).

The Role of a Priest in Bresson’s Works

Bresson clearly maps out the role of a priest in his works. According to him, the role of a priest is both horizontal and vertical communication as is signified by the cross. His role is neither to solely condemn some while reassuring others (Quandt 375). There are several aspects of the Lacan psychoanalysis that Bresson’s films conform to. Chief among them being, the Lacan psychoanalysis belief of all that grace entails. Bresson equivocates grace to some sense of healing just like in the Lacanian psychoanalysis. Grace is derived from expecting nothing of self, hence fostering some form of analysis and self-reflection. The result is a feeling of a new-found healing. Likewise, generosity and philanthropy are guided by an inner feeling of love (Quandt 376).

Controversies in “Pickpocket”

Bresson’s film Pickpocket is full of controversies which is a projection of our society. The film begins with Michel writing on the wall signifying that the film is a confessional autobiography. According to Jean Collet, a Robert Bresson critic, Bresson does not want his audience to know his characters in films; this is because he does not appeal to the psychological. His concentrate is mainly the spiritual. The demerits of his films and paradoxes therein are clearly brought out by Jean. He points out to the fact that Robert Bresson fails to bring out some form of coherence in the beings that appear in his films. All the characters in Bresson’s films are a mystery, and no one knows about them completely (Quandt 377).

Conclusion

The break from the psychological and inclination to the spiritual by Robert Bresson signifies that his films and works can be objectively classified as Lacanian Psychoanalysis. Moreover, his beliefs tend to shift towards metaphysics as opposed to religion and all that Christianity posits. In a greater degree, Robert Bresson’s works are disconnected from Christianity because the church fails to find logic and make sense out of his works. Moreover, the works are skewed more towards Christian mysticism (Quandt 369).

Works Cited

Quandt, James. Robert Bresson: “D’où cela vient-il?’: Notes on Three Films by Robert Bresson.Toronto: Toronto International Film Festival Group, 2000. Print.