Robert Bresson film is an "outdated" art.
And this "outdated" sense of imagery is more clearly shown in "Mouchette". The actors are expressionless, almost restrained, and their body movements are like mime performances, rigid, fixed, exaggerated, and direct. Even today, it seems a little artificial and false. I can't help but ask myself, are Bresson's films really outdated?
The answer is of course no.
For me at least, Bresson will never go out of style. When I saw the mime-like "ridiculous" performances in "Mouchette", I didn't laugh, because I didn't find a proper reason to laugh, and laughing only proved the stupidity of ignorance. In fact, the mechanical performances, empowered by montage, appear more serious and solemn in Bresson's extremely rigorous composition and positioning.
Arguably, those movements are actually closer to a ritual.
Second
, this sense of ritual adds to the endless charm of the movie. It just so happens that Bresson is a master of creating atmospheres and creating "ceremonies". In the opening scene of "Mouchette", Bresson sets the tone of the film with a fixed shot and the tone of a woman: sad and serious. This kind of opening is even a little inexplicable, but it is simple and effective, and a strong literary atmosphere and "metaphysical" meaning come directly to the face.
Yes, it's very "Bresson".
three
Bresson's sense of atmosphere always brings a tone of command, this unwavering password, like an equation holding you, you can't move. Simple scenes, simple shots, simple actions, simple editing, simple dialogue, everything is "minimal" in simplicity. In minimalism, a chilling force emerges spontaneously. Then, stylization was born, even to the extreme. When you enter his world, it is like entering a church: sacred, mysterious, grand and solemn. Every tiny movement, every detail, carries a religious solemnity. The feeling makes you shudder and even overwhelms you. Anyone who tries to imitate Bresson's cinematic approach will do so in vain. No one can learn his style. But his films look so simple, even make people feel that "I can make them too". But in fact, Bresson's almost control freak control from start to finish makes the film impossible to copy, and his spirit has been integrated with his film.
Bresson can only be Bresson after all. Or, if you want to be Bresson, unless you are God.
Four
calm, brutal atmosphere not only thanks to the perfect and pure mise-en-scene, but also thanks to the sound world that is almost real and full of life. Real sound, no music, everything seems to be in life, secret and quiet. When Mushaet played the bumper car, the sound was almost "fake", but it was only a short play time, and then he was slapped back to reality. It's the only time in the film that Mushayt delights, and the scene seems a little out of place. This idealized treatment contrasts sharply with previous encounters, and at the same time alludes to Bresson's childishness. The charm of the sound lies in its "real", lively. The sound world created by Bresson is a world around us, everything is real, but "false". When inconspicuous voices are amplified, Bresson's charisma comes into play. He captures the meaning of the action through sound, and delineates the calm and cruel environment. The sound is to the picture, and the picture is to the sound. Without both, it is difficult to constitute Bresson's art.
Fives
In his black and white images, we can always see strong movements, which are emphasized by the director. Action governs life, and life depends on action. The "movement and stillness" created by Bresson produces a mysterious chemical reaction, just like the captured bird and the wounded rabbit in the film. Under the cold eyes of their onlookers, they unreservedly released their desire for life and their fear of death. Bresson just aimed the camera at it, fixed it, a very impactful sense of struggle, and a strong stab in the heart. Death often comes suddenly, and this feeling of being caught off guard gives birth to greater vitality.
Death = Life
Six
The death of the mother, and the death of Mushayt, seems to be somewhat "not worth mentioning" and has no "formal sense" of death. It's just that "once". And the instant nature of this "snap" makes people feel relieved, as if carrying a basket of things up the mountain, and finally unloading the basket when they reach the top of the mountain. But this ease was destroyed by Bresson's conscious stay. Mushayt's death was ceremonial, even somewhat impossibly dramatic. Through the "dance" similar to rolling the hillside, the "attachment" to life is conveyed: the passive "attachment", the contemptuous "attachment", and the helpless "attachment". But in the end, it was swallowed up by the catalysis of the surrounding sounds and forces, and finally with the sound of "thump", Mushait ended himself.
There are no shots of death, just that "sound".
Seven In
the end, we can only see the cruel blank space, only the scattered plain skirt, the dark yellow and rotten branches, and the unfathomable river. From his appearance to his death, Mushait lived for less than 90 minutes, but he tasted the warmth and coldness of the world. The camera stayed for a long time, unwilling to leave, until the end of the curtain with sacred religious music, it was hidden.
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