Product: L' Argent [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 4.0
For Want of a Nail the World Blew Up
I recently purchased L'Argent having read a few positive things about the movie. It is the story of greed run amuck. One spoiled brat passes a conferfeit French equivilent of a $100 bill and the misfortune that ensues affects many innocent people. The movie does an outstanding job of portraying the people involved and that has the effect of drawing both towards and away from the various characters. Some we will perceive as innocent and some as guilty as I think director Robert Bresson intended. This lesson in morality works well until Bresson takes a leap too far in making his point. Before we reach that extreme, however, we are convincingly reminded that innocence is not always rewared nor is guilt always punished. Bresson goes beyond that to such lessons as the poor being always at a disadvantage in court when challenging the rich and that love often doesn't conquer much of anything. Various characters end up in jail while other lose in other ways.In regards to the end, I will give nothing away (I hope) but I feel the need to complain about the excessive conclusion that Bresson seems to want us to end up with. An innocent victim suffers one setback after another and he has our sympathy. However, what gets passed along from his hands to others is in no way a logical next step as the director would have us believe. Maybe others might think so. However, for me this leap of logic ruined the film's message. To paraphrase Cornelius Ryan, this was a misfortune too far.