Film "Bluntly put, to not get (Robert) Bresson is to not get the idea of motion pictures?it's to have missed that train the Lumiére brothers filmed arriving at Lyon station 110 years ago. The late French filmmaker made 13 features over the course of his 40-year career; each is a drama of faith so uncompromising as to border on the absurd. Bresson's actors do not act, they simply are; his favorite effect is the close-up. His movies may be cerebral, but their effect is primarily emotional?or physiological. They naturally induce a state of heightened awareness. Some might call it "grace." -- J. Hoberman, Village Voice.
It's an interesting quote, and although I have certain issues with Bresson's work, I would generally agree with the assessment -- I 'get' Bresson. I just don't necessarily agree with him, like a joke you understand but don't laugh at. I do extend my admiration to him for having a vision and doing everything he can to get that vision out, even if it means not chasing the studio dollar by producing something abhorent to him now and then to make ends meet.
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