Quatre nuits d'un rêveur

Robert Bresson’s oeuvre is often described as being highly constructed and rigorous, as well as the site of great emotional intensity. The orchestration of gestures, the choreography of entries and exits, the movements and rhythms are so precise that the whole world appears to have been arranged according to a secret melody. But what is that if not a description of falling in love? Here, two youngsters bump into each other at Pont Neuf and share their stories of daydream and heartbreak; it’s the perfect occasion for Bresson’s style to embrace romance at its fullest. The Paris roar is muffled, so we hear their steps in unison. As they get closer, all we see are their clasped hands, as if floating in the air. In this restoration, each surface become more charged, and a doorknob can be more erogenous than a nipple. There are raw emotions, sudden fractures and melancholy in spades, but QUATRE NUITS D’UN RÊVEUR might be Bresson’s most openly romantic film. So much so that it is almost a musical, with songs repeatedly infiltrating the narrative. At some point, we hear Brazilian musician Marku Ribas’s words: “I’m a port open to song.” The heart of Bresson’s cinema has never been so open to lyricism, love ballads and infatuation. (Victor Guimarães)

Robert Bresson: LES AFFAIRES PUBLIQUES (1934) LES ANGES DU PÉCHÉ (1943), LES DAMES DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE (1945), JOURNAL D’UN CURÉ DE CAMPAGNE (1951), UN CONDAMNÉ À MORT S’EST ÉCHAPPÉ (1956), PICKPOCKET (1959), PROCÈS DE JEANNE D’ARC (1962), AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (1966), MOUCHETTE (1967), UNE FEMME DOUCE (1969), LANCELOT DU LAC (1974), LE DIABLE PROBABLEMENT (1977), L’ARGENT (1982)