Quatre nuits d'un rêveur
1971 Drama / Romance
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Credits
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Summary
One night, a young painter, Jacques comes across a young woman, Marthe, who is about to
commit suicide by jumping off the Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris. Marthe is heart-broken
because her former lover, who left her a year ago, failed to keep their meeting on the
bridge. Jacques is instantly attracted towards Marthe and asks if they can meet up the
following night. She agrees, and they spend the next four nights wandering the streets
of Paris, sharing their fantasies and dreams. By the fourth night, Jacques has fallen
hopelessly in love with Marthe, but then who should appear but her former lover...
Review
Quatre nuits d'un rêveur is Robert Bresson’s melancholic and highly individual
ode to young love. More of a visual poem than a piece of drama, it is made in the
cold minimalist style of the director’s later works, yet it is profoundly moving in its
humanity and perceptiveness. As in all Bresson’s films, the actors were trained
to give unemotional performance, and whilst this would at first appear strange for a love
story, it actually serves the film well. By playing down the outwards signs
of love, the film gives us a keener insight into how it affects the soul. As is
typical of Bresson’s cinema, we are drawn to matters spiritual rather than things corporal,
and the result is one of his most stirring, and surprising, works.
© James Travers 2002 Write a review for this film... |
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