{"id":12497,"date":"2010-09-24T15:43:55","date_gmt":"2010-09-24T22:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=12497"},"modified":"2021-01-27T15:38:30","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T22:38:30","slug":"pickpocket-1959","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=12497","title":{"rendered":"Pickpocket (1959)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Could one turn a blind eye to certain kinds of theft?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster-214x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster-214x300.png 214w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster-730x1024.png 730w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster-91x128.png 91w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster-768x1077.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster-193x270.png 193w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Pickpocket-Poster.png 781w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA young man (Martin LaSalle) becomes addicted to pickpocketing as a way of life, much to the distress of his concerned friends (Marika Green and Pierre Leymarie).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Character Studies<\/li>\n<li>French Films<\/li>\n<li>Robert Bresson Films<\/li>\n<li>Thieves and Criminals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nWhile most reviews and analyses of this <em>Crime and Punishment<\/em>-inspired character study by Robert Bresson are adulatory, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1803pick.html\">DVD Savant&#8217;s<\/a> take rings the truest to me. He argues that &#8220;Bresson&#8217;s deliberately intellectual approach is going to be a long reach for all but the most dedicated and focused audiences&#8221;, and he humorously notes that the primary actors &#8212; infamously directed by Bresson to <em>not<\/em> act &#8212; all &#8220;have a slightly glazed look in their eyes, like Pod people not quite comfortable in human bodies&#8221;, moving &#8220;as if it took a conscious act of will to do simple things like turn around or look in a certain direction&#8221;. Indeed, while LaSalle is effectively enigmatic for about the first ten minutes of the film, his mannerisms (an intense yet empty gaze; a tendency to look down at the floor, then glance back up again) quickly become not only tiresome but downright irritating. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, it&#8217;s devilishly difficult to care at all for his Raskolnikov-inspired character, who we&#8217;re purposely emotionally distanced from &#8212; given that he (and all the other characters) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1803pick.html\">&#8220;behave in a way that expresses nothing beyond the exact words they say and things they do&#8221;<\/a>. To that end, the most useful advice I&#8217;ve read about Bresson&#8217;s films is to view them more like graphic novels than filmed theatrical dramas; Bresson was aiming for &#8220;pure cinema&#8221;, and believed this was the best artistic direction to take. While <em>Pickpocket<\/em> is cited by many as Bresson&#8217;s masterpiece, however, I would argue that his earlier <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10080\"><em>Diary of a Country Priest<\/em> (1951)<\/a> is the film in which his ascetic directorial style is best served. And for a much more engaging look at the &#8220;art&#8221; of pickpocketing, check out Sam Fuller&#8217;s vigorously anarchic <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4987\"><em>Pickup on South Street<\/em> (1953)<\/a> &#8212; a truly enjoyable &#8220;must see&#8221; classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The remarkably tense opening pickpocket sequence (at the racetrack)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/pickpocket-scene.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/pickpocket-scene.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12503\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its historical relevance; but it won&#8217;t be for all tastes. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0053168\/\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0053168\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.slantmagazine.com\/film\/review\/pickpocket\/1836\">Slant Magazine Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/great-movie-pickpocket-1959\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1803pick.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/review\/3089\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/pickpocket.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/pickpocket-1\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Could one turn a blind eye to certain kinds of theft?&#8221; Synopsis: A young man (Martin LaSalle) becomes addicted to pickpocketing as a way of life, much to the distress of his concerned friends (Marika Green and Pierre Leymarie). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Character Studies French Films Robert Bresson Films Thieves and Criminals Review: While most reviews and analyses of this Crime and Punishment-inspired character study by Robert Bresson are adulatory, DVD Savant&#8217;s take rings the truest to me&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=12497\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12497"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66426,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12497\/revisions\/66426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}