Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971)

Director:

Robert Bresson

Writers:

Robert Bresson (writer)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (short story "White Nights")

Release Date:

29 June 1971 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The 'dreamer' is Jacques, a young painter, who by chance runs into Marthe as she's contemplating suicide on the Pont-Neuf in Paris...

Plot Keywords:

Night | Lover | Bridge | Love | Paris France

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Isabelle Weingarten	...	Marthe
Guillaume des Forêts	...	Jacques
Maurice Monnoyer	...	Marthe's Lover
Lidia Biondi	...	Marthe's Mother
Jérôme Massart	...	Jacques' Visitor
Patrick Jouané	...	Gangster (segment "Amour - quand tu nous tiens")

Also Known As:

Four Nights of a Dreamer (USA)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Pont Neuf, Paris 1, Paris, France

Company:

Albina Productions S.a.r.l.

Quotes:

Marthe: What's the matter?
Jacques: I love you. That's the matter.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in De weg naar Bresson (1984)

An aimless artist/dreamer meets a woman considering suicide, and they tell each other their stories.

I saw this film twice with Japanese subtitles. Tonight I saw a print (and very different version) with English subtitles.

In this film, Bresson makes everyday life beautiful.... the lights on the river, the Brazilian music coming from a beautifully lighted tour boat going under the bridge the lovers are on... The story is small... An aimless artist prevents a woman from suicide and listens to her story and tries to help her reunite with her lover. This story seems to be seen through a dark filter of the beauty of Paris and its people.

A scene where the heroine is making love in the next room while her mother is walking back and forth calling her name, not realizing that her daughter is right next door... Her voice gets louder and softer and louder...

The scene with the aimless artist following one beautiful woman, only to be distracted by another beautiful woman whom he then follows....

There are many small beauties in this film. And my telling you about them will only make you anticipate them with pleasure.

Bresson, working with a minor little story has created a film of great beauty. Good luck finding it....I was fortunate enough to see it at a theater twice, where the beauty of the scenery could be appreciated. For some reason, it is not out in video or DVD. The DVD I saw probably had the photographer setting up his camera in the dark theater... and shooting at the screen!