Film master Robert Bresson (also translated Robert Bresson) made only 13 films in his life.
And these 13 books are like treasures, which always make people always remember and linger. Speaking of something in common in his films, there are 1959's Pickpocket and 1983's Money. Although the stories are out of line, they all deal specifically with money, and the moral anxiety in them is horribly intensified. It can be seen from this that Bresson's film aesthetics are consistent, which is not only formal, but also increasingly diverse in expressiveness and indescribable spiritual texture.
The anxiety of the protagonist Michelle in "Pickpocket" comes from constant anxiety, self-condemnation of conscience and final self-redemption, while Imma Dalci in "Money", as an innocent victim, gradually turns to the emptiness of life A terrifying fall. In addition to the regret and helplessness for Imma, there is also a deep condemnation, because this kind of tragedy that should not have happened, what is to be tortured is the comprehensive fall of the moral sense of all people involved in the film. Including the negligence and carelessness of the police and the prosecution, has undoubtedly played a negative role in fueling the flames. Involving every link after Imma was deceived, in addition to seeing the hypocritical and deceitful side of human nature, it also saw the cowardice of human nature and the evasion of responsibility under special circumstances.
Although "Money" is adapted from Tolstoy's novel "Counterfeit Money", it is clear that Bresson, the founder of "author's film", has pushed the original connotation of the novel to a deconstructed one through the unique expressive power of the film. Extremely. Bresson said, "It is not the moving images that move people, but the relationship between the images to make the images both vivid and moving." Therefore, this is not a film on an ordinary level. Undoubtedly, Bresson's understanding of the novel is beyond the average director. He also adapted novels by famous writers such as Diderot and Dostoevsky.
It's easier said than done to give each character a vivid interpretation. In addition to focusing on rigorous photography and editing, Bresson focuses more on dealing with the expressive power of the characters and the surrounding scenes. By creating a quiet and vivid atmosphere, he highlights the various contradictions and swellings under the fate. In fact, it is the expression and dissolution of freedom and will. The will of the individual is always trivial, extremely trivial. Even if he is wronged by Tianda, he can only bear it silently, and when the load reaches a limit, it will naturally burst like a bubble.
Just as Nobel, a middle school student in "Money", was lured by bad young people and came to the photo studio to use counterfeit banknotes, but the couple in the photo studio continued to use them and instructed their subordinates to give false testimony even though they knew it was counterfeit, and even allowed the good young Imma to be deceived. Later, he was wrongfully arrested, his family was disintegrated for no reason, his child died of illness, his beloved wife left, and he embarked on a road of no return.
The wife Alice in "Money" finally wrote to Imma, "I won't come to see you again, life has changed." Yes, it turns out that the peaceful and happy life is no longer there, what can a woman change. If she wants to live, she can only succumb to reality. It is also like the young man who gave false testimony in the photo studio and later became a thief. After being caught, he was locked in the same prison as Imma. He did not regret it, and even encouraged Imma to run away together, saying, "Only money can be seen with the naked eye. The Almighty God." And Imma said, "Let me run away with you, rather than kill you."
Released after three years in prison, Imma has no home to go back to. He first killed the hotel owner and his wife, and then went to his mother's house in the countryside after stealing the money. Seeing his mother working silently and taking care of the family all day, he said, "Mom, are you willing to endure it like this? Are you waiting for a miracle to happen?" That night, after killing the whole family, he surrendered to the police as a sign of the whole family. liberation, including himself. It can be seen from this that life, together with its innate sense of morality, is an extremely fragile virtuality, and like truth, it is a metaphysical existence.
A chain of events and several murders caused by a counterfeit banknote happened so unbelievably. Things that seem to be unrelated are actually inextricably linked. If a good person is wronged, one and several bad people will be released. Personality, dignity, and life will all be despised, and justice, justice, and law will all be trampled upon. Both films seem to be telling people: When our hands are tightly clasping things that don't belong to us, let's just loosen them up.
In "Pickpocket", Michelle's career as a thief, although he succeeded many times, was not smooth, but he did not stop. Even the persuasion of his friend Jack and the enlightenment of the old policeman did not make him decide. In fact, the role of external forces, together with the existing sense of guilt, made him sleepless and sleepless, especially the death of his loving mother. The pure and beautiful image of the caregiver Jenny has been with him for a long time, affecting him all the time. After witnessing the arrest of his companion, he was so anxious and tormented that he was almost at the limit of pressure, so he left Milan, and then stayed in London for two years before returning to Paris empty-handed.
Everything is human. The kind Jenny has a one-year-old baby, and the man who loves her has left her, she is helpless, Michelle said the most touching sentence in the whole film "I am here, I am responsible for the child." How? To be held accountable, he who had already quit his job could only resume his old business, perhaps because he neglected his skills for many years, and was arrested as soon as he made a move. In the end, when Jenny went to see him, without saying a word, their foreheads were pressed against the bars, this scene was like the last fireworks rising in the silent night sky, both beautiful and sad, deeply shocking.
Through these frivolous auras of life, Bresson found a unique perspective and abundant image language to establish "film writing". This is the fluttering snowflake that touches the soul. Although it is fleeting, it will never disappear in the heart. This is also the epiphany and enlightenment after the powerlessness of life. From this, it is not difficult to find out why the images in Bresson's films are so dynamic.
After Bresson passed away at the end of the year in 1999, someone said such a touching sentence, "For a hundred years, the hand that carried the film has loosened." When it comes to the film, he said the simplest and most general words before his death - — "The image wakes up, shaking slightly." Yes, his films have always trembled and nourished our hearts, and they have always made us think he is still alive.
2013, 7, 12
From the film critic collection "Invisible Movies" published by Haitian Publishing House
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