Robert Bresson ( in French) (25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
known for his spiritual, ascetic style.
Bresson was born at
Bromont-LamotheBromont-Lamothe is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907 varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal à Sceaux, Paris, and turned to painting after graduating. Three formative influences in his early life seem to have a mark on his films -
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
, art and his experiences as a
prisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Initially also a photographer, Bresson made his first short film,
Les affaires publiques (Public Affairs) in 1934.
Robert Bresson ( in French) (25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
known for his spiritual, ascetic style.
Life
Bresson was born at
Bromont-LamotheBromont-Lamothe is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907 varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal à Sceaux, Paris, and turned to painting after graduating. Three formative influences in his early life seem to have a mark on his films -
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
, art and his experiences as a
prisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Initially also a photographer, Bresson made his first short film,
Les affaires publiques (Public Affairs) in 1934. During World War II, he spent over a year in a prisoner-of-war camp - an experience which informs
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veutA Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is a 1956 French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a prisoner of war held at Fort Montluc during World War II. The protagonist of the film is called Fontaine...
(
A Man Escaped). In a career that spanned fifty years, Bresson made only 13 feature-length films. This reflects his meticulous approach to the filmmaking process and his non-commercial preoccupations. Difficulty finding funding for his projects was also a factor.
Themes
Bresson's early artistic focus was to separate the language of cinema from the theatre, which often heavily involves the actor's performance to drive the work. With his 'actor-model' technique, Bresson's actors were required to repeat multiple takes of each scene until all semblances of 'performance' were stripped away, leaving a stark effect that registers as both subtle and raw, and one that can only be found in the cinema. Some feel that Bresson's
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
upbringing and
JansenistJansenism was a branch of Catholic thought that arose in the frame of the Counter-Reformation and the aftermath of the Council of Trent . It emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination...
belief-system lie behind the thematic structure of most of his films. Recurring themes under this interpretation include
salvationIn religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life...
, redemption, defining and revealing the human
soulThe soul, in many religions, spiritual traditions, and philosophies, is the spiritual and eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; distinct from the physical part. It is typically thought to consist of ones consciousness and personality, and can be...
, and metaphysical transcendence of a limiting and materialistic world. An example is his 1956 feature
A Man EscapedA Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is a 1956 French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a prisoner of war held at Fort Montluc during World War II. The protagonist of the film is called Fontaine...
, where a seemingly simple plot of a prisoner of war's escape can be read as a
metaphorA metaphor is a figure of speech concisely comparing two things, saying that one is the other. The English metaphor derives from the 16th c...
for the mysterious process of salvation.
Bresson's films can also be understood as critiques of French society and the wider world, with each revealing the director's sympathetic if unsentimental view on its victims. That the main characters of Bresson's most contemporary films,
L'ArgentL'Argent , is the final film by French film director Robert Bresson. It was inspired by Leo Tolstoy's short story The Forged Coupon.It earned its maker the Director's Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
and
The Devil, Probably (1977), reach similarly unsettling conclusions about life indicates to some the director's feelings towards the culpability of modern society in the dissolution of individuals. Indeed, of an earlier protagonist he said, "Mouchette offers evidence of misery and cruelty. She is found everywhere: wars, concentration camps, tortures, assassinations." In 1975, Bresson published
Notes sur le Cinématographe (most commonly translated as "notes on cinematography"), in which he argues for a unique sense of the term, "
cinematographyCinematography , is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
". For Bresson, cinematography is the higher function of cinema. Whereas a movie is in essence "only" filmed theatre, cinematography is an attempt to create a new language of moving images and sounds.
Legacy
Bresson is often referred to as a
patron saintA patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, or person. Patron saints, because they have already transcended to the metaphysical, are able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges...
of cinema, not only for the strong Catholic themes found throughout his oeuvre, but also for his notable contributions to the art of film. His style can be detected through his use of sound, associating selected sounds with images or characters; paring dramatic form to its essentials by the spare use of music; and through his infamous 'actor-model' methods of directing his almost exclusively non-professional actors. He has influenced a number of other filmmakers, including
Andrei TarkovskyAndrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist and opera director....
,
Michael HanekeMichael Haneke is an Austrian filmmaker and writer best known for his bleak and disturbing style. His films often document problems and failures in modern society. Haneke has worked in television‚ theatre and cinema. He is also known for raising social issues in his work...
,
Jim JarmuschJames R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent filmmaker. Jarmusch is a major exponent of independent cinema, particularly that of the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, and
Paul SchraderPaul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter and film director. His influences include Robert Bresson, Yasujiro Ozu and Carl Dreyer, whose cross-cultural similarities he examined in Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer in 1972...
, whose book
Transcendental Style in Film: Ozuwas a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed since the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationship between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work.-Life:Ozu was born in the...
, Bresson, DreyerCarl Theodor Dreyer, Jr. was a Danish born film director of Swedish descent. He is regarded by many critics and filmmakers as one of the greatest directors in cinema.-Life:...
(ISBN 0-306-80335-6) includes a detailed critical analysis.
Quotes
"My movie is born first in my head, dies on paper; is resuscitated by the living persons and real objects I use, which are killed on film but, placed in a certain order and projected on to a screen, come to life again like flowers in water." - Robert Bresson
Awards and nominations
Robert Bresson was given the
Career Golden Lion in 1989 by the
Venice Film FestivalThe Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice,...
- Journal d'un curé de campagne (1951) - Diary of a Country Priest
- Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice,...
International Award Winner
- Venice Film Festival Italian Film Critics Award Winner
- Venice Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
- Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is a 1956 French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a prisoner of war held at Fort Montluc during World War II. The protagonist of the film is called Fontaine...
(1956) - A Man Escaped
- Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival , founded in 1946, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals. The private festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France.The 62nd edition started 13 May and ended 24 May 2009...
Prix de la mise en scène Winner
- Pickpocket
Pickpocket is a 1959 film by the French director Robert Bresson. It starred, at the time, nonprofessional actor Martin LaSalle in the title role, with Marika Green as the ingénue...
(1959) - Pickpocket
- Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear Nominee
- Procès de Jeanne d'Arc
The Trial of Joan of Arc is a 1962 historical film by the French director Robert Bresson. Joan of Arc is played by Florence Delay.As usual in Bresson's mature films, The Trial of Joan of Arc stars non-professional performers and is filmed in an extremely spare, restrained style...
(1962) - The Trial of Joan of Arc
- Cannes Film Festival Special Prix du Jury Winner
- Cannes Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
- Au hasard Balthazar
Au hasard Balthazar, , is a 1966 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Anne Wiazemsky.-Plot:The film follows Marie , a shy farm girl, and her beloved donkey Balthazar, through many years...
(1966) - Balthazar
- Venice Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
- Venice Film Festival Jury Hommage
- Mouchette
Mouchette is a 1967 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Nadine Nortier, and Jean-Claude Guilbert. It is based on the novel by Georges Bernanos. "Mouchette" means "little fly" in French...
(1967)
- Cannes Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
- Venice Film Festival Pasinetti Award Winner
- Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971) - Four Nights of a Dreamer
- Berlin Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
- Lancelot du Lac
Lancelot du Lac is 1974 film that was written and directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on Arthurian legend, and is told in a highly stylised manner. It relates the story of Lancelot and Guinevere's love, as Camelot and the Round Table fall apart...
(1974)- Lancelot of the Lake
- Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize Winner (Bresson refused this award)
- Le diable probablement (1977) - The Devil Probably
- Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear Winner
- Berlin Film Festival Interfilm Award Winner
- Berlin Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
- L'argent
L'Argent , is the final film by French film director Robert Bresson. It was inspired by Leo Tolstoy's short story The Forged Coupon.It earned its maker the Director's Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1983) - Money
- Cannes Film Festival Prix de la mise en scène Winner
Feature films
- Les Anges du péché (1943)
- Les dames du Bois de Boulogne
Les dames du Bois de Boulogne is a French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is a modern adaptation of a section of Diderot's Jacques le fataliste , telling the story of a man who is tricked into marrying a former prostitute. The title means "the ladies of the Bois de Boulogne", a park in...
(1945)
- The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne
- Journal d'un curé de campagne (1951)
- Diary of a Country Priest
- Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is a 1956 French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a prisoner of war held at Fort Montluc during World War II. The protagonist of the film is called Fontaine...
(1956)
- Pickpocket
Pickpocket is a 1959 film by the French director Robert Bresson. It starred, at the time, nonprofessional actor Martin LaSalle in the title role, with Marika Green as the ingénue...
(1959)
- Procès de Jeanne d'Arc
The Trial of Joan of Arc is a 1962 historical film by the French director Robert Bresson. Joan of Arc is played by Florence Delay.As usual in Bresson's mature films, The Trial of Joan of Arc stars non-professional performers and is filmed in an extremely spare, restrained style...
(1962)
- Au hasard Balthazar
Au hasard Balthazar, , is a 1966 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Anne Wiazemsky.-Plot:The film follows Marie , a shy farm girl, and her beloved donkey Balthazar, through many years...
(1966)
- Mouchette
Mouchette is a 1967 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Nadine Nortier, and Jean-Claude Guilbert. It is based on the novel by Georges Bernanos. "Mouchette" means "little fly" in French...
(1967)
- Une femme douce (1969)
- Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971)
- Lancelot du Lac
Lancelot du Lac is 1974 film that was written and directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on Arthurian legend, and is told in a highly stylised manner. It relates the story of Lancelot and Guinevere's love, as Camelot and the Round Table fall apart...
(1974)
- Le diable probablement (1977)
- L'argent
L'Argent , is the final film by French film director Robert Bresson. It was inspired by Leo Tolstoy's short story The Forged Coupon.It earned its maker the Director's Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1983)
By Robert Bresson
- Notes sur le Cinématographe — translated as Notes on Cinematography and Notes on the Cinematographer in different English editions.
About Robert Bresson
- La politique des auteurs, edited by André Bazin
André Bazin was a renowned and influential French film critic and film theorist.- Biography :Bazin was born in Angers, France, in 1918...
.
- Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2), edited by James Quandt
- Transcendental Style in Film: Bresson, Ozu, Dreyer by Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter and film director. His influences include Robert Bresson, Yasujiro Ozu and Carl Dreyer, whose cross-cultural similarities he examined in Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer in 1972...
- Robert Bresson: A Spiritual Style in Film, by Joseph Cunneen
- Robert Bresson, by Philippe Arnauld, Cahiers du cinema, 1986
- The Films of Robert Bresson, Ian Cameron (ed.), New York: Praeger Publishers, 1969.
- Robert Bresson, by Keith Reader, Manchester University Press, 2000.
- "Robert Bresson", a poem by Patti Smith from her 1978 book Babel
Babel is a book by Patti Smith, published in 1978, and contains Smith's poems along with her prose, lyrics, pictures and drawings.- Radio Ethiopia :# "Notice"# "Italy"# "The Tapper Extracts"# "Grant"# "Street of the Guides"# "Rimbaud Dead"...
- "Spiritual style in the films of Robert Bresson", a chapter in Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, and political activist.-Life:Sontag, born Susan Rosenblatt, was born in New York City to Jack Rosenblatt and Mildred Jacobsen, both Jewish Americans. Her father ran a fur trading business in China, where he died of tuberculosis when Susan was...
's Against Interpretation and other essaysAgainst Interpretation and Other Essays is a collection of essays by Susan Sontag which was published in 1966. It includes some of Sontag's best-known works, including "On Style", "Notes on 'Camp'", and the titular essay "Against Interpretation"...
, New York: Picador, 1966.
Informational
Interviews