Pierre Leymarie Movies
- 2003
When Robert Bresson made his classic film Pickpocket in 1959, he avoided using professional actors, as was often his custom, and instead cast three men with no previous experience as his leads. More than 40 years later, filmmaker Babette Mangolte met a gentlemen named Pierre Leymarie at a party; certain she's met him before, she discovers that the genetic engineer was one of the amateurs cast by Bresson for Pickpocket. Inspired by the chance meeting, Mangolte decided to track down the other two leads in the movie, and The Models of Pickpocket (aka Les Modèles de Pickpocket) is a documentary in which the three men discuss their memories of the project, what they've since done with themselves, and how the experience of working with Robert Bresson impacted their lives. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Director Robert Bresson chose Uruguayan nonactor Martin LaSalle for his leading man in Pickpocket. LaSalle's inexperience works against the film for some viewers, though Bresson himself was satisfied because his star proved himself a quick study in the art of lifting wallets (a genuine pickpocket was engaged as "technical adviser"). Essentially, the story is a character study of a cocky young criminal who becomes so entranced by the act of picking pockets that he literally can't stop himself. The Bressonian technique of concentrating more on the mechanics of the plot than the emotions of the characters is, as always, a matter of taste. Filmed in 1959, Pickpocket was released in the US in 1963. Loosely inspired by Feodor Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Lasalle, Marika Green, (more)
