L'Argent on DVD (1983)

One thing leads to another.

JG Weston from Chelmsford, Essex , 28/04/2005

The film starts with a boy in debt and his father won't help out with extra pocket money. He gets help(?) from a friend by way of a dud note, which they pass off in a shop. At this point we expect a tale based on 'follow the note' as it passes from person to person. What we get however is how the effects of an initial action ripple out like the effects of a single stone cast in to a pond.

The film is a little confusing, as not everything is clearly explained. The acting is strange too, all the actors are akward and stiff, but with them all doing this it is obviously done for effect. I felt that the director asked for this to remove the humanity of the characters and convey instead the workings of fate. The film has a definite feel of a russian morale tale, like a greek tragedy but without the nobility of the gods.

The actor in the lead role gives a splendid performance, when he first enters it is like a bit player coming on for a minor part and he seems periferal to the action, as things progress he moves center stage and dominates the film.

If you like a film with an easy to follow plot, lots of action and twists and some character development then this one is not for you. If however you like a film to make you think and which explores a descent in to hell from a simple beginning then give it a go.

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Bit slow, with woody acting

A customer from hampstead , 05/06/2006

Love frenchy cinema, but this was just too slow and the acting was incredibly woody and monotonous.

Even if you like foreign/arthouse films, steer clear of this one

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Lean and mean

Melon from East Sussex , 22/06/2005

This is a film you'll either love or hate, depending on your appreciation of Bresson's particular film-making style. Every scene is stripped down to it's bare essence, with the minimum amount of information in terms of performance and camera shots given to convey the story along. It's a massive contrast to usual Hollywood style overload, but becomes almost hypnotically gripping once you get used to it. This is perhaps the culmination of Bresson's career as it's minimalism almost to the point of abstraction. This is a grim, bleak little fable about the harshness of life, and how random events can destroy the innocent.

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Compulsive viewing

A customer from Anstey Leicester England , 03/08/2005

The wholly believable story line runs its own course without the usual 'Hollywood-type' bells and whistles in terms of visual overload to side track the viewer in true Bresson fashion.

Compulsive viewing!

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Is this a parody????

A customer from Chester, England , 16/03/2006

It takes a lot of indulgence to watch until the end. The framing together with the acting makes it completely uninteresting. Go for it if you want to waste one hour and a half.

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Stark Bresson film intriguing but emotionless

A customer from London, England , 27/06/2006

Having heard that Robert Bresson is one of the lesser sung geniuses of film, I was looking forward to seeing my first Bresson film. L'Argent has a spare, almost documentary feel; no music, the use of non-actors and a style of cutting to consciously upset the natural flow of action. The story is very simple: a man wrongly accused of passing off forged notes ends up on a downward spiral. The cause and effect of his relentless bad luck stopped ringing true towards the end, but this film is worth seeing for the style more than the story.

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