Pickpocket (1959)

Michel is released from jail after serving a sentence for thievery. His mother dies and he resorts to pickpocketing as a means of survival.

Director:

Robert Bresson

Writer:

Robert Bresson

Stars:

Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Martin LaSalle	...	Michel (as Martin La Salle)
Marika Green	...	Jeanne
Jean Pélégri	...	L'inspecteur principal
Dolly Scal	...	La mère
Pierre Leymarie	...	Jacques
Kassagi	...	1er complice
Pierre Étaix	...	2ème complice
César Gattegno	...	Un inspecteur

Storyline

Michel takes up picking pockets as a hobby, and is arrested almost immediately, giving him the chance to reflect on the morality of crime. After his release, though, his mother dies, and he rejects the support of friends Jeanne and Jacques in favour of returning to pickpocketing (after taking lessons from an expert), because he realises that it's the only way he can express himself...

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Plot Keywords:

torn pants | one word title | family relationships | thief on the run | voice over | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

16 December 1959 (France)

Also Known As:

Pickpocket

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnie Cinématographique de France

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min 77 min (1965)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included in the Toronto International Film Festival's Essential 100, movies every cinephile should see.

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Quotes

Michel: Oh, Jeanne, to reach you at last, what a path I had to take.

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Connections

Referenced in Pickpocket: Paul Schrader Introduction (2005)

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Soundtracks

Suite de symphonies d'Amadis (selection)
(title uncredited)
Music by Jean-Baptiste Lully (as J.B. Lulli)
Transcription: Fernand Oubradous (as F. Oubradous)
Conducted by Marc Lanjean
Éditions Transatlantiques

User Reviews

precedents and antecedents

I just saw pickpocket for the first time last night, and thought it was the best bresson film i've seen- the others being l'argent, balthasar, and an early one (possibly about a prostitute?) of which i can't remember the title. It's a minimalist masterpiece- only kiarostami's 10 has taken a step onwards and stripped cinema even closer to its essentials- which has more than one moment of transcendence, through a decisive act breaking the compulsive repetition- felt both by protagonist and audience. the only point i have to add is that i found it very hard to stop comparing it to crime and punishment, american gigolo and taxi driver. It's incredible how bresson makes the lesser crime of stealing seem just as immoral as a brutal murder, and the film is sufficiently cinematic and different from its obvious thematic source that it is incomparable to dostoyevsky's novel (which happens to be my favourite book). However, i think the combination of schrader's identification with, and admiration for, both bresson and the russian master, when combined the psychological mastery of scorsese and the uniformly excellent acting of taxi driver make it the better film. Is this perhaps because it gives the audience more sensation, and therefore more to react to, than pickpocket? In this it is closer in tone and style to crime and punishment and notes from the underground, and also perfectly encapsulated a period of time and social mentality just as dostoyevsky did. however, these points are largely irrelevant, for without pickpocket these links would not exist; and without bresson, cinema would have been severely impoverished.