Pickpocket ***

French with English subtitles; Directed by Robert Bresson

Michel, a pickpocket, has deluded himself into believing that people of a certain intelligence have a right to steal. He ignores his dying mother and treats his only friend like dirt. He appears to have no moral conscience; a psychopath who perfects pickpocketing. Indeed, it's a kind of how-to movie that shows how to go about the trade. Of course, the risk is that you might end up in jail. What was interesting to me is the technique of pickpocketing in which the pickpocket stands face-to-face with the "mark" while swiping his wallet. Wow, that's nerve. In another scheme, he "helps" the victim by grabbing his wrist to pull him out of a predicament while single-handedly taking his wristwatch. In one scene, the pickpocket returns an emptied wallet into the mark's pocket. True story: On his prom night (1969), a friend of mine lost his wallet to a pickpocket while dancing at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building in Chicago. He suspected a certain couple who bumped into him. Later that evening, his wallet reappeared, sans the cash. I guess if you're going to be a mark, at least getting nailed by professionals leaves you with an amazing story.

The characters in this movie are largely emotionless, except for Jeanne (that's her in the photo), his mother's neighbor, who is shown crying. It's a strange style, yet I found the movie was interesting. It's hard to connect to Michel, although it's natural to want to, but he's a psychopath, after all, so it's probably a good sign that I didn't. Bresson's photography was often mesmerizing.

It's a short movie, only 75 minutes.