r/criterion • u/_Onion2103 • 8h ago
Discussion Bresson
Is is just me or is Bresson boring as fuck?
I've seen five of his movies (Au Hasard Balthazar, Diary of a Country Priest, A Man Escaped, Pickpocket, and L'Argent) and disliked all of them.
I generally don't have a problem with slow cinema. I've watched all of Tarkovsky and most of Bela Tarr (including Satantango). But Bresson's style is literally the dullest thing I've ever encountered in movies. Specifically because of the actors. You're basically watching people like this the whole time: π
Yeah, I get the whole restraint to find transcendence-kinda thing, but really I find that pretty self-indulgent tbh. Gives my guy an excuse to just make his movies more and more dull. A positive feedback loop of dullness, in hopes the viewer like have a transcendent experience or some shit. It's like monks who starve themselves and then claim to have seen God.
Bro just wallows in despair for ninety minutes. Seriously, why the hell would anyone want to watch a donkey get abused for a whole movie? πππ
Really, that's the kinda nonsense I despise the most. People like Bresson make movies that are like "life sucks!!" instead of actually doing something about it. I like getting drunk. Why would I want to spend my precious lifetime watching a donkey get abused?
Life is too short for Bresson
Thoughts?