PICKPOCKET Guest Artistic Director

Narrated in the first-person from diary entries, PICKPOCKET tells the story of young Michel, a wandering soul who secretly steals from strangers in public places. He spends his days choreographing and rehearsing his technique in his modest apartment, and later with fellow thieves in cafes. – Dilcia Barrera

PICKPOCKET is a definite masterpiece and has a quality of “DO NOT TOUCH.” But the minute you enter the film with its grey textures, you are hooked! We follow the mysterious Michel, played by ghost-acting Martin LaSalle as an addict with an urge for dexterous pick-pocketing. He even improves his art with a pro. Bresson dares to film the thefts as a rather erotic excitement and climax. Martin feels both guilt and pride. A determined plain-clothes policeman tries to catch Martin, but the film is not a police story; it’s more like Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.” Martin has a long way to go – including jail time – to discover the feeling of love. This was Bresson’s first non-adapted script. He also made radical choices: the cinematographer L. H. Burel used a specific lens (50mm). The editing also stresses the suspenseful passage of time. Yes, PICKPOCKET is definitely a masterpiece. – Agnès Varda