Product: L' Argent [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 5.0
Bresson's greatest work...
This is Bresson's greatest, and last, work. It is a work from a true cinematic auteur. No one made films like Bresson did, and I don't think anyone ever will. This film is based on a short story by Tolstoy entitled The Forged Coupon (aka The Forged Note), except Tolstoy's story is much different that Bresson's take here. It is about how a forged note of 500 francs passes from one hand to another, ruining the life of a fuel oil delivery man. Bresson made this film when he was 82, but you couldn't tell that it was made by a man that old. Quite often, critics assume that filmmakers (and artists in general) have nothing to say as they get older. On the contrary. They have even more to say. A real artist's vision deepens as they grow older. Kurosawa made Ran at 75, and Eastwood made Million Dollar Baby at 74. Those are their best films. Bresson is rather feisty and combative (which is a good thing) in the interviews presented here. He doesn't mince words, and he doesn't seem interested in doing the usual inane questions that featurettes on DVD's usually have from bubble headed reporters (even though these were shot for French TV, not Entertainment Tonight). He has something to say. This is my favorite film of his (even though Lancelot of the Lake and Au Hasard Balthazar are close behind). Sadly, he never made another one after this, but the 13 he did make are all brilliant. Not one bad one. Great film, great man...