User Reviews

When we first encounter Bresson in this documentary, it is through a rapid series of gnomic pronouncements about filmmaking, almost as challenging to absorb as the kind of utterances Godard peppers his own work with, interspersed with longish clips from several of Bresson,s more recent titles.We then settle into a more leisurely discussion in which the main thrust of the interview emerges, the director arguing for the yet as unreached goal of Lê Cinematographe, an art form he has aspired towards (whereas most of filmmaking is simply the inferior Cinema.) The enemies of Le Cinematographe are acting, dramatization and Theatricality, Bresson preferring flat images which create meaning through their juxtaposition.He has hope that the new generation of young movie makers will reach this goal,and talks about projects he wants to make such as an adaptation of The Bible and his forthcoming Au Hasard Balthazar .Surprisingly, among recent commercial release the austere auteur bestows high praise on a James Bond entry, Goldfinger! We also learn something of his tastes in painting (Cezanne, Chardin, Matisse, Uccello and the less well known Wols ) photography (Nader) and music (Webern).All in all, an informative and educational hour well spent.