Classic Throwback: Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)

My only exposure to the films of Robert Bresson prior to Pickpocket was a short clip from A Man Escaped (1956) at university, and Lancelot Du Lac (1974), which had a few too many shots of horses torsos and monotonous armour clinking for my liking. Though Bresson's style was interesting I was optimistic about finding more enjoyment in some of his earlier works (widely considered masterpieces of 50's/60's French cinema). I thought I would start with Pickpocket and then watch Au Hasard Balthazar, which I included as part of my 2012 Blind Spot Series.

Pickpocket opens with Michel (Martin Lasalle) amateurishly attempting a theft at a racetrack, managing to successfully steal money from the bag of a spectator, but being arrested as he leaves. It is initially unclear why he has been picked up, with the Inspector (Jean Pelegri) eventually releasing him due to insufficient evidence. Along with the Inspector, who suspects Michel of being an elusive pickpocket, but tries to understand and help the man throughout the film, Michel also spends time with his loyal friend Jacques, who gives him contacts for honest work, and Jeanne, an attractive young woman who lives in his ailing mother’s apartment block and takes care of her. Jeanne and Jacques start to date one another – but Michel is eventually forced to divulge his secret profession to Jeanne following his mother’s death.

The film’s main narrative is Michel’s improvement as a pickpocket. His outspokenness about the morality of picking pockets, and the book detailing the art of the craft in his possession is more than enough for the Inspector to suspect him. Michel either remains oblivious, or chooses to ignore this. Perhaps he is so over-confident in his abilities, having apprenticed with a professional thief to learn the craft, that he has become blind to the danger he is in and is generally indifferent about being caught?

It is revealed later why the Inspector suspected Michel at the racetrack, because there had been an incident at his mother’s apartment some time prior. Money had been stolen, and presumably by her son. Stealing money from your mother is, in most cases, not considered a crime, but when one turns their skills onto other innocent people, it becomes just that. There are some dense moral themes running through Pickpocket – for instance, we never understand why Michel is so estranged from his mother, but he is clearly socially awkward, and perhaps ashamed that he has never become the writer/intellectual she hoped he’d be.

We also come to realise that Michel is convinced that there is morality in his obviously immoral profession. He believes that if a person (a 'superman', as he calls them) possesses some extraordinary ability to thieve or break the law, it is morally acceptable to allow that person to go about it. He is a poor man, a failing writer, and taking extreme risk to make a living. He is robbing people far more wealthy than himself. Also, it becomes unclear by the end of the film whether he is robbing these people for the economic benefits, or because of the satisfaction it brings him – almost like an addiction. Though Jeanne evidently cares for him, and his mother is dying, he is predominantly emotionless and disaffected, except when he is picking pockets. He has given up writing and busying himself with ‘good’ work, and dedicated all of his time to perfecting his gift (his new creative craft).

Bresson is very particular with the images he uses in his films. His shots are very focused, precise and direct. He will exclusively capture someone’s hands if they are the only feature essential to the shot. But he also makes great use of Michel’s face, capturing his expressions that convey a blend of nervousness and intense concentration. The sequences (one wonderful montage in particular) where Michel and his accomplices pick the pockets of their targets, are extraordinarily choreographed. They are thrilling when you take into account the risk and skill involved, and also because of the excitement of Bresson’s filmmaking style. There are times when you wonder how some of these shots of Michel and his comrade’s slight of hand were achieved. It must have been revelatory at the time.

Pickpocket doesn’t have all that much dialogue, but instead reveals Michel’s thoughts and motivations through Martin LaSalle’s monotone voice-over. Much like the performances, they exist to carry the story and not to draw too much attention. Whenever Michel is attempting a pickpocket – we see him preparing for the crime or in the act - his thoughts relayed in voice-over, which doesn’t prove distracting, but perfectly accompanies the images and aids our understanding of his thought-process and his acknowledgement of the risks. Bresson also sparingly uses music and there are a couple of beautiful compositions in Pickpocket. It is scaled down to the most essential elements, presenting a simple story, but allowing the viewers plenty of opportunity to follow and decipher the events, but bring in their own interpretations of what the images mean.

Pickpocket was an unforgettable experience. It’s brief but to the point and an interesting evaluation of the mind of a criminal, who possesses a unique ideology and strives for meaning in his indiscretions (and I believe is inspired by Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment). It is also worth a look purely for the meticulously crafted thefts. Now I understand why Bresson is regarded as one of cinemas greatest ever auteurs.