The Minimalist World of Robert Bresson

How much can you strip away? How far can you go? Robert Bresson did not just create his own cinematic language. He created his own cinematic ideology - striving to tear film away from the theatre, strip away all artifice and create something you could only experience through cinema. Over his 13 feature films, and one standalone short, his career spanned from 1934 to 1983. In this episode, we will talk you through each and every single one of his films, look at what they minimised, try to understand why and above all try to express just how it makes us feel - and why it works ... or doesn't. This is the story of how Bresson became Bresson, and how his minimalist world developed, evolved, reached dead ends and rejuvenated itself.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro02:26 - Our first reaction to seeing a Bresson film03:25 - Bresson, the canon and the French New Wave07:21 - Things to Know Before Seeing Your First Bresson10:59 - Short film: Affairs Publique14:45 - Angels of Sin18:10 - Les dames du Bois de Boulogne22:40 - Diary of a Country Priest29:05 - A Man Escaped37:04 - Pickpocket47:46 - The Trial of Jean of Arc54:24 - Au hasard Baltazar1:02:32 - Mouchette1:10:46 - A Gentle Woman1:21:17 - Four Nights of a Dreamer1:28:00 - Lancelot du Lac1:32:38 - The Devil Probably1:35:55 - L'Argent1:51:07 - Filmmakers Inspired by Bresson