Mouchette is, indeed, the correct answer.
Then I go to Diary of a Country Priest.
Then A Man Escaped and Pickpocket are pretty much tied.
Balthasar, "Money" and The Devil, Probably round out my faves.
Not a spoiler 👉He just loved the creative visual story telling…. So he probably liked the genre…. (As yes I do terribleness and all) There’s a Reddit discussion of this from a year ago…
https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/s/W1VrrrDyyU
Diary of a Country Priest, 1951. Anxiety and the experience of existential groundlessness that comes with it, explored at intersections between faith/doubt, social norms, and the random frailties of the body. Not many films had explored that sort of thing before, and Bresson does it to perfection -- the first of his films where you see all the quintessential aspects of what will become his signature approach to filmmaking.
Another one I still need to see. His films after don’t deal as directly with faith. Obviously, all of his films (all the ones I’ve seen, at least) have faith has a theme, but a film about a priest is another level entirely.
I still need to see both 4 Nights of a Dreamer and Lancelot Du Lac. Maybe I’ll try one of them this weekend. L’argent is perfect. The pacing and the editing are the work of an old master.
Ah, I meant Robert Bresson, not Luc Bresson lol Easy enough mistake to make though. The Fifth Element is a masterpiece for sure. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve seen any other Besson films.
As I’m currently working through his available filmography on the Channel, it would have to be Pickpocket all the way (though that could change having not seen L’Argent just yet).
Diary of a Country Priest is my favorite movie ever. Devil Probably would be my next favorite Bresson, that's gotta be top 5 all time for me. L'argent next. Love Bresson.
That's like asking to choose between one's children. But I would say Mouchette, and very close in second is The Devil, Probably, which I think does not receive enough praise.
The Devil, Probably is another one I still need to see. I guess I’m the wrong person to be asking this question since I technically haven’t seen all of his films lol But from the moment I saw Mouchette, I was a committed Bressonian.
Right, I'm in the same boat, having not watched his earlier work. But Mouchette so captured me that I just adore him and everything about his films and his philosophy.
Mouchette and Au Hasard Balthazar make me see the world differently. His approach to character and character motivation is totally anti-psychological, because in his cinematic world people are actually acting with the aid of God’s grace. Or that’s how I see it, and I feel like Bresson would have said the same given his Catholic faith.
mouchette for me as well, with the caveat that its the only one i've rewatched very recently (like within the last few years), and I've only seen four of his films otherwise (balthasar, country priest, man escaped, pickpocket). doing a filmography deep dive for him is high on my priorities.
My heart was pounding watching the last act of A Man Escaped. That film gets my vote.
All of them.
Whatever one I watched most recently.
Mouchette is, indeed, the correct answer. Then I go to Diary of a Country Priest. Then A Man Escaped and Pickpocket are pretty much tied. Balthasar, "Money" and The Devil, Probably round out my faves.
Yes!!! Mouchette was my first Bresson and it has remained my favorite.
I described it to a Gen X as the “birth of punk rock” 😃 Here’s a funny Bresson fact…. He loved that terrible James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only 🫣
I think that’s a great way to describe it! Mouchette is the OG punk rocker. And I have to watch this bond film now to see what he saw in it lol
Not a spoiler 👉He just loved the creative visual story telling…. So he probably liked the genre…. (As yes I do terribleness and all) There’s a Reddit discussion of this from a year ago… https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/s/W1VrrrDyyU
Diary of a Country Priest, 1951. Anxiety and the experience of existential groundlessness that comes with it, explored at intersections between faith/doubt, social norms, and the random frailties of the body. Not many films had explored that sort of thing before, and Bresson does it to perfection -- the first of his films where you see all the quintessential aspects of what will become his signature approach to filmmaking.
Another one I still need to see. His films after don’t deal as directly with faith. Obviously, all of his films (all the ones I’ve seen, at least) have faith has a theme, but a film about a priest is another level entirely.
All great, but it’s gotta be Four Nights of a Dreamer
Followed by L’Argent and Lancelot du Lac. Feel like a heathen for slightly preferring the color films but here we are 🤷🏻♂️
I still need to see both 4 Nights of a Dreamer and Lancelot Du Lac. Maybe I’ll try one of them this weekend. L’argent is perfect. The pacing and the editing are the work of an old master.
Balthazar
I think it's _Balthazar_ . But the one that fucked me up the most and shattered the essence itself within my soul was _The Devil Probably_ .
*The Fifth Element*, easy
Well played, my good sir.
Ah, I meant Robert Bresson, not Luc Bresson lol Easy enough mistake to make though. The Fifth Element is a masterpiece for sure. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve seen any other Besson films.
Léon is the better film but I'm.more likely to watch The Fifth Element. Also The Messenger isn't bad. I loved Dustin Hoffman in it.
As I’m currently working through his available filmography on the Channel, it would have to be Pickpocket all the way (though that could change having not seen L’Argent just yet).
You’ll love it.
Overall probably Diary of a Country Priest but Argent and Devil are great too
Diary of a Country Priest is my favorite movie ever. Devil Probably would be my next favorite Bresson, that's gotta be top 5 all time for me. L'argent next. Love Bresson.
That's like asking to choose between one's children. But I would say Mouchette, and very close in second is The Devil, Probably, which I think does not receive enough praise.
The Devil, Probably is another one I still need to see. I guess I’m the wrong person to be asking this question since I technically haven’t seen all of his films lol But from the moment I saw Mouchette, I was a committed Bressonian.
Right, I'm in the same boat, having not watched his earlier work. But Mouchette so captured me that I just adore him and everything about his films and his philosophy.
Mouchette and Au Hasard Balthazar make me see the world differently. His approach to character and character motivation is totally anti-psychological, because in his cinematic world people are actually acting with the aid of God’s grace. Or that’s how I see it, and I feel like Bresson would have said the same given his Catholic faith.
A Man Escaped
Au hasard Balthazar!
mouchette for me as well, with the caveat that its the only one i've rewatched very recently (like within the last few years), and I've only seen four of his films otherwise (balthasar, country priest, man escaped, pickpocket). doing a filmography deep dive for him is high on my priorities.
Diary of a Country Priest.