Lambert's The Prince of Pickpockets: A Study of George Barrington. Īt one point in the film, Jacques reads and asks to borrow Michel's copy of Richard S. When he sees her again, she seems lit up, and he realizes he loves her.īresson said Pickpocket "was written in three months and shot in the midst of crowds in a minimal amount of time." The resulting disorder proved to be a challenge during shooting, but was sometimes used to the crew's advantage, as in the Gare de Lyon pickpocketing sequence. He cannot understand why Jeanne visits him in jail, but, after she does not come for three weeks, he finds his hands shaking as he reads a letter explaining that her child has been sick. Although suspicious when the man seems to win a bet he should have lost, Michel still tries to steal the money and is arrested, as the man is a plainclothes officer.Īt first, Michel is mostly just upset he was caught. He is feeling good, but is drawn to a man reading the racing form and finds himself accompanying the man to Longchamp. Michel offers to help her support the child by getting an honest job, and he follows through. He goes to see Jeanne and discovers she and Jacques had a child, who she is raising alone because she did not want to marry him. Michel spends two years in London "pulling off good jobs", but he blows all of his money gambling and on women and returns to Paris. Although she is appalled, she tearfully hugs him before he leaves and asks if he is going to run away before the inspector catches him, giving him the idea to do just that. Jeanne has still not figured this out, but he catches her up. Jeanne tells Michel that the police recently asked her to confirm his mother is the one who withdrew her complaint, which shows Michel that his mother knew he robbed her. Deeming it unlikely Michel will turn his life around, the inspector indicates he is going to start watching Michel more closely. He goes home, and the chief inspector comes by to tell him that, a month before he was arrested at the racetrack, Jeanne reported some money had been stolen from Michel's mother, but the complaint was withdrawn the next day. Michel and his two accomplices undertake coordinated pickpocketing sprees at crowded locations, and one day he gets to Gare de Lyon station and sees his accomplices being led away in handcuffs. Michel asks if Jacques and Jeanne love each other, and Jacques leaves. Jacques finds him at his apartment cleaning himself up, having fallen during his escape from a man whose watch he stole. While they are on a ride, he wanders off. On a Sunday, Michel goes to a carnival with Jacques and Jeanne. Michel and the mysterious man begin to work together, and they eventually bring in a third man. She says she is not worried about him and he says he is sure she will get better, but she dies soon after. When she is on her deathbed, Michel finally goes to see his mother. The man turns out to be a pickpocket, and he teaches Michel several new techniques. Michel sends Jacques to see his mother in his place and goes out to find the mysterious man. He notices a mysterious man lurking outside, but is interrupted when Jacques shows up with Jeanne, who tells Michel that his mother is ill. Later, he tells Jacques that he is no longer looking for a job.Īfter spending a week in the subway picking pockets, Michel is caught, so he lies low for a few days. He practices the technique he observed and employs it successfully. In the subway, Michel notices a pickpocket. He sees the chief inspector and they wind up discussing Michel's theory that certain superior men should not be bound by the same laws as everyone else. Michel goes to meet his friend Jacques at a bar and asks for help finding a job. Her neighbor, Jeanne, offers to let him in the apartment, but, instead, he gives her money to give his mother and leaves. The next day, Michel goes to visit his sickly mother, who he has not seen in a month. At the police station, the chief inspector releases him because it cannot be proven that he stole the money. He leaves the track confident he was not noticed, but is suddenly arrested. Michel goes to a race at Longchamp Racecourse and takes some money from a woman's purse. The film is generally considered to be one of Bresson's greatest films. It stars Martin LaSalle, who was a nonprofessional actor at the time, in the title role, and features Marika Green, Pierre Leymarie, and Jean Pélégri in supporting roles. Pickpocket is a 1959 French film written and directed by Robert Bresson, the first for which Bresson wrote an original screenplay rather than adapting an existing work.
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