pickpocket

A stylised and engrossing glance at the maturation of a pickpocket, Robert Bresson leaves much unsaid as he concentrates on the feel of Pickpocket. At the Paris races, a young man, Michel (Martin LaSalle), stands gazing at the assembled punters. A middle-aged lady catches his eye, as she stashes a bundle of notes within her hand-bag. The race commences and Michel glides behind her, slowly and meticulously inching his left hand towards the clasp of her bag. With infinite patience he liberates the cash (we can feel the sweat trickling down his spine), turning away just as the race ends and discovery seems imminent. We wait for a cry of treachery but it never comes; Michel almost bounds out of the gates, excited by his first success. A few steps later the police arrest him.

When the cops release Michel, through lack of evidence, he departs somewhat discouraged. Seeking out his old friend Jacques (Pierre Leymarie) he professes his desire to obtain a normal job, to the partial disbelief of his companion. This caution is well founded for, while he is on the metro, Michel finds his desire reawakened when he observes a master pickpocket at work. So smooth is this stranger's technique that Michel resolves to perfect it himself, more as a reason to leave his claustrophobic apartment then anything else though. A few weeks later Michel can pull off this incredibly audacious maneuver, where you stand face-to-face with your victim and pluck the wallet free right under his nose. All goes well until one day a target follows Michel and demands his wallet back -- an unusual event but there happens to be a reason why this stranger has no wish to involve the police.

Michel has found a professional (Kassagi), who is happy to teach him everything he knows about the art of the pickpocket. Keen to learn, practice and train his supple digits, Michel is soon an integral part of a smoothly functioning team. Meanwhile his mother (Dolly Scal) has fallen ill, being cared for by neighbour Jeanne (Marika Green) because he's too scared to visit. Internally he's ashamed of his weakness and the possibility of discovery, especially by his mother, so avoidance seems the best option. As if this wasn't enough, Michel is playing games with the police Inspector (Jean Pelegri). They've only got suspicion to work on so Michel taunts them, almost as if he wants to be caught. Justice eventually arrives, although Michel escapes this time and the story takes another sharp turn.

The essence of Pickpocket deals with the way in which one man slips into a life of crime, simply because he's good at it. However, his motivations and thoughts are never examined in an explicit manner. Everything Michel does is shrouded in mystery, perhaps because he himself doesn't understand why he does what he does. The only real certainty is the immense rush which follows success, almost making the inevitable arrest worth it. In line with Bresson's desire to explain this story in light and sound, the dialogue it extremely sparse and abrupt while the illumination is strikingly harsh and quite stunning. Immense amounts of detail are left untouched (characters are given no background, many scenes make do with a bare handful of words) yet this works, in tune with the dislocation of Michel from the world around him. Pickpocket is a strange film to view, compelling in its unflinching assessment of obsession and personal torment yet restrained and chilly in its execution.

10/10