I’ve seen a few attempts at Crime and Punishment, and this is probably the best. Bresson’s penchant for picking non-actors in order that they don’t detract from the message has always left me with question marks rolling around my head, but everything slots into place perfectly for this piece of work.
Martin LaSalle is superb as the increasingly paranoid inheritor of Raskolnikoff’s burden and the unique visual aesthetic seems far, far ahead of its time. I don’t think P is as good as the deeply moving Au hasard Balthazar (a candidate for my ten greatest movies), but as an intricate and challenging character study it’s still a formidable art.
As an aside – given that this movie is almost 50 years old - the DVD print is of astonishing quality.
Martin LaSalle is superb as the increasingly paranoid inheritor of Raskolnikoff’s burden and the unique visual aesthetic seems far, far ahead of its time. I don’t think P is as good as the deeply moving Au hasard Balthazar (a candidate for my ten greatest movies), but as an intricate and challenging character study it’s still a formidable art.
As an aside – given that this movie is almost 50 years old - the DVD print is of astonishing quality.
