This documentary does not simply inform us about the relationship of the three protagonists (Martin Lassalle, Marika Green, Pierre Leymarie) with the great French director Robert Bresson during the making of the famous film Pickpocket(1959). Bresson, treated the actors as “models” in order to bring out a non-dramatic, neutral and essentially more authentic expressiveness of their being. This approach has remained indelible to the then amateur actors, and Mangolte’s extensive research on Bresson helped her to convince the "models" to trust her. Silent behind the camera, shows how this encounter changed their lives and how they still research on or passionately remember the mysterious director. Mangolte, by also visually paying tribute to Bresson, shows us as well his deep influence on her own directing style, especially regarding the sense of place.
Babette Mangolte (1941) is a French-American director, cinematographer, photographer and artist who has lived in New York since 1970. She has worked as a cinematographer with Chantal Akerman and Yvonne Rainer and has made important experimental films on the very act of looking about the American landscape, about contemporary dance and the art of performance. She is considered one of the most important artists of the American avant-garde and currently teaches at the University of San Diego in California.
Photos: Les modeles de pickpocket, Martin, ©2003 Babette Mangolte, all rights of reproduction reserved
