"Pickpocket"

I have been infatuated with the development of character, but I had immense trouble relating to the Michel. Bresson did not allow the audience to get inside of Michel’s head. He did not relate to the general public and had a very dull personality. His ways were almost awkward and often gave me a very eerie odd feeling. However, this depiction helped make the movie what it was.

The focus was not on the psychology of one man, it was on his physical movements. It showed Michel’s hands, his footsteps, and his everyday motions, which are rarely captured on film. This interesting technique helped the audience understand pick pocketing as an art. By focusing on Michel’s hands and small motor skills, it showed the work that was put into the art of the pick pocket. The actual pick pocketing scenes showed that practice makes perfect, it allowed the audience to see the thieves by slowing down the shot. The audience sees every step of the process, which allows them to actually route for the thief.

Some things also struck me as ironic in the film. For example, Michel was a thief by profession but did not worry about his own items getting stolen. Michel had no lock on his door and rarely even shut the door as he was leaving. It is funny to think that a common thief is so trusting.
I thought the movie was interestingly shot, but overall I felt it lacked a strong plot. The girl could have had more relevance and Michel could have shown a little more interest in her. I did however enjoy the overall exposure of everyday life, body language and movements.

Bob le Flambeur

This film induced the ordinary as everything seemed to be very mundane. The lighting of the film was dark, and no set was radical or out of the ordinary. Everything down to the murder scenes did not evoke the emotions of the characters. However the exciting crime induced plot made this style of film incredibly enticing.

Bob “the high roller” is a very much a gentlemen, he keeps up appearance and tries to steer clear of crime. Even though he does eventually turn to crime, he is a criminal you want to see succeed. For a person who is a compulsive gambler and thief, he shows a strong moral code. He has a very paternal quality to him and in many situations shown as a care taker. For example; he has a young protégé that he points in the correct in direction. He also takes care of the young girl, by housing her and giving her money. His paternity and all around calmness reminds me of the modern day Tony Soprano.

The ending scene of the film was incredibly clever. Bob’s luck finally changed for the better and he could not lose. Forgetting about the “plan”, Bob wins all the money in the casino safe. This is wonderful irony and fits the overall undertone of the film.

Les Cousins

The character development in this film was incredibly interesting and unique, especially for the time. I did not have dedicated sympathetic feelings for one character throughout the film. One moment I would feel empathy for a character and soon after the character would do something that completely irked me. This was especially the case for Charles.

Charles was a guest in the city and was initially portrayed to be a simple minded, hardworking, well mannered yet somewhat rustic person from a rural area. His relationship with his mother first struck me as a healthy and mannered family bond. However, this perception changed as soon as Charles fell in love with Florence. Who mentions their mother when they first meet a woman who they feel connected to both mentally and physically? Someone who is easily controlled by the people around them, someone without a backbone and wishes to be controlled. Instead of feeling bad for Charles, I began to feel bad for the people who had to be around him. Instead of having his mother tell him what to do, he used studying as something that consumed the entirety of his existence. Since at the end he failed his exam, he lost the sensation of being controlled, which caused him to leave the fate of another human’s life to a 1 and 6 chance. This ultimately showed the weakness of Charles, and left him as someone who may of deserved his fate.

Paul was someone I did not like from the beginning of the film. He was arrogant, spoiled and didn’t understand other’s needs. However, towards the end of the film, I began to feel that Paul actually cared about his cousin and really meant words of encouragement. Deep down Paul did not want to cause any harm to Charles, he simply wanted him to be as happy as he could.