Les anges du péché - Robert Bresson

[Anton]

I watched this old French movie just last week,  Les anges du péché (Angels of Sin), directed by Robert Bresson, and was quite impressed.  I'm not a fan of modern French movies (which seem to be among the most degenerate), but there were certainly many great classics made in the old days. This one is from 1943, during the Vichy period. (and pre-Vatican 2!)  Most of this takes place in a Dominican convent, which specializes in rehabilitating female convicts.  Supposedly Bresson's co-writer, Raymond Bruckberger, was a Dominican priest.  One of the main characters is from a well-to-do family who joins for selfless reasons; the other is an ex-con who turns out to be in hiding.  I won't give away too much of the plot.  It was especially engaging to me because I found the traditions of the French convent to be so interesting, not to mention the starkly beautiful cinematography and rich atmosphere.  French speakers will no doubt appreciate it more than I did - I felt I was missing out on nuances of the story with the sub-par subtitles.  I watched another of Bresson's early movies, Les dames du Bois de Boulogne, which was excellent as well.  He is my new favorite director.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the sense Robert Bresson was Catholic.  Perhaps someone here could verify that?

Les anges du péché
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035636/

[WilfredLeblanc]

Bresson was an amazing director. My perception is that his greatest achievements are his adaptation of Georges Bernanos' novel, Diary of a Country Priest, and a film about the life and death of a donkey, Au Hasard, Balthasar. A Catholic sensibility clearly underlies all of his films.

[PeterII]

I've watched all 13 of Bresson's feature length films on the big screen in pristine prints a decade ago when Cinematheque Ontario commissioned them for the "Bresson Project."

Bresson was a Catholic and criticized the new mass, although specific details about his faith are hard to verify with lots of contradictory information because most of the interviewers during his lifetime did not know what they were talking about when it comes to Catholicism, and the man was an aloof artist.   But one only needs to watch "Diary of a Country Priest" to know Bresson was intimately aware of the true Catholic spiritual life.   They often refer to him as a Jansenist, but I believe this really has to do with his austere filmmaking style more than a personal philosophy. 

I can say many things about this unconventional master filmmaker and his films, but it is best to pick up a copy of the Criterion edition of "Pickpocket" which has a very good interview with Paul Schrader that shows exactly how Bresson's cinematic style works.  However, don't watch the interview until after seeing the film (it's at the beginning for some reason) because it contains huge spoilers.

[GeorgeT]

I'm a fan. You shoud watch more of his films. He's a great craftsman. I was drawn to his work when I was watching post ww2 movies for modest but artfully done films. I fell in love .