lancelot du lac (1974)

lancelot du lac (translated to mean "lancelot of the lake'') represents new territory for robert bresson. the film is borderline fantastically, or at least it bases itself in the realm of fantasy, as a vivid retelling of the legend of king arthur. what is especially interesting about this concept is that it is a distictively french take on a distictly british tale.

the film opens, rather unusually for bresson, with an action scene. its decidely bresson in the choice of angles used to portray the flow of the action, as well as in the pace of the editing. its a rather odd way to open the picture, as it is soon followed by an opening scroll explaining the story up to this point. this opening scroll contains the first of many witty asides presumably aimed at the british origins of the story at hand, with the overuse of the word ''heroic'' et al. post-scroll we cut to a new scenario, one of which is perhaps most familiar with bresson's previous work. a peasent family are disturbed by a lost knight of the realm, in a scene which echoes ''au hasard balthazar''.

bresson's usual use (some would say overuse) of religious iconography is especially prevailant in "lancelot du lac". presumably the premise of the film (the war occurs as it is said to be "gods will") is intended to be a comment on the notion that all wars are a product of religion. alongside this the film deals with ancient superstitions throughout, and much in the same way that paranoia rises in his other films ("a man escaped" and "pickpocket" especially), the woe caused by the superstitions rises. in terms of the different types of faith explored in the film, there are parallels between those of guinevere and lancelot's love for each other and that of jeanne in "pickpocket". the same could be said of balthazar in "au hasard balthazar also.

the scenes of conflict, be they in the sense of practice, the tournament or indeed genuine battle, carry the heavy characteristics with which you would usually expect of bresson. tight panning close ups, fastened to a particular item (joust stick, boot spur) are prevailent throughout, with the emphasis on feet throughout the entire tournament especially noticeable. in fact, throughout this entire sequence we never see above the protagonists waist. its a similiar technique to that of the way in which the pickpocketing sequence from the eponymous film were shot. we, as the viewer are left contemplating the result of the scenario for far longer than we would usually expect to be. as a result this adds an extra layer of tension to the situation. as well as this, bresson uses basic techniques such as laying an upcoming scenes soundtrack over the preceeding ones visuals to great dramatic effect. the scene early on in the picture, wherein lancelot and guinevere are first discovered together by the other knights, uses this technique wonderfully.

a man escaped (1956)

my third bresson, and in the shape of his most lauded work; his masterpiece if you will. "a man escaped; or: the wind bloweth where it listeth" to give it its full title tells the story of fontaine, a fighter for the resistance in frnace during the second world war. arrested and sentenced to death, fontaine hatches a plan to escape. his plan is meticulously detailed, from using spoons as a carving tool, to converting shirts into rope.

the film is told completely from the point of view of the protagonist, even going as far to not translate what the german soldiers are saying to him (presumably to immerse us in his experience further, considering it is unlikely that he would have spoken the language himself). every piece of on screen action is seen from his perspective, lending great dramatic weight. as such the narration is incredibly detailed, with our protagonist pointing out ach and every detail. the narration is synched really well with the on screen action, with it at times seeming as though we are listening in on fontaine's trail of thought. francois leterrier, as the eponymous man of the title is incredible in the role,lending a subtlety to a very complex character.

as with bresson's previous work "a man escaped" carries a heavy religious subtext, although not as overtly positive as the one exued within "au hasard balthazar". through his uncertainties with religion we are shown a side of fontaine that is unique to this alone. the normally arogant or cocksure man seems silenced in a way.

the sound of the film is largely dependant on that of the sound of the environment. at times mozart's "mass in c minor" accompanies integral parts of the story, and is especially strong at the end of the film. the triumph of the music adds layers to the achievement of fontaine. having followed his plan in painstaking detail, we, as the viewer can relate to the music in a triumphant manner too, having followed the plan in intimate quarters.

l'argent (1983)

adapted from a leo tolstoy story, roberty bresson's final film tells the story of yvon, a young man who, through a series of random events revolving around a forged 500 franc note, sees his life fall apart. this is a tale of greed; of money and consequence.

as this is only my second bresson i decided to take in one of his later works. what is most immediate, and perhaps most surprising about the later film, is just how similiar in style it is to "au hazard balthazar". bresson's unique style remained the same over the course of fifty years, without ever proving stale or under-developed. one of the most prevailing visual motives is the use of lines in his work, be it in the buildings and the streets, or the inner locations of each respective scene. contrasting lines are used to signify a shift in location, time and circumstance, proving a very strong technique when it comes to expressing such shifts. bresson's work has incredibly assured pacing, for example in the scene in which the prisoners are dining and yvon attacks; the movement of the assault is shown in a very literal and theatrical manner, the emphasis on movement through editing and camera placement is wonderful. the similiarity in style to bresson's earlier work here again is astounding.

bresson's incredibly traditional method of storytelling is shown particularly well in the scene set in the church mass. when attempting to show the reason as to why the mass is so popular, rather than using an obvious cinematic convention, bresson instead chooses to simply show the reason (mass is an easy opportunity in which to trade) using his familiar brand of literal visuals. its a hypocritical method of filmmaking in a way, as its very simple in one way, but complex in another. theres no explanation verbally, something which may jar when compared to modern cinematic technique. this concept is introduced using very basic (in style at least) classic film techniques. its very literal.

the nature of the cut makes the film feel like a much longer, much more epic story. theres very little narrative "baggage", with every scene serving to move the story forward. characterisation rarely stems beyond that of which is necessary, hence the streamlined running time of eighty minutes.

the use of sound in "au hasard balthazar" was incredibly prevailant. again in l'argent, the diagetic sound is impressive, the post-trial sound of shuffling feet overwhelming the previously overbearing traffic being particularly memorable. this compares well to the sounds of schubert in "au hasard balthazar". the verwhelming sounds throughout the first half of "l'argent is that of the sound of the parisian roads and the cars that are using them. the sound of the roads are left behind when the scene is moved to the prison, only to be reintroduced the moment that yvon opens the door to return to the outside world. the sound of the road is replaced with complete silence in the prison, with only the sound of the heavy prison doors locking breaking the calm.

the encounter with the woman towards the end of the film could be seen as yvon's encountering of faith, which is the one thing above all else that he is lacking, having had it removed from his personality throughout the course of the film. there are definite parallels between the woman and balthasar the donkey, both seemingly existing to serve those around her. yvon's slaughter of the woman's family could be seen as his reaction to the concept of faith, showing that he has finally gone beyond all areas of return. he is scarred beyond respite and his final arrest is the conclussion of the fate that yvon set himself earlier on in the film, in the scene where, describing to his cellmate prior to lucien's removal from the prison yvon has accepted that he and lucien will encounter each other again.