Some consider him the greatest director, the first and only.
Others seem to have a hard time understanding him.

Journalist: Do you think people will understand?

Bresson: I don't know if you understand me, but are we talking about the film or about me? If we're talking about the film, then... let's start with the film. I would rather people feel the film before they understand it. I would prefer it to arouse feelings, more than thoughts.

Journalist: What did you want people to feel with the movie Pickpocket?

Bresson: More than telling a story, I wanted to convey the atmosphere that surrounds a thief — that special feeling that makes you feel anxious and uncomfortable.

Journalist: Have you ever met a thief?

Bresson: I think so, but you usually only realize it when you've been robbed.

Journalist: And you didn't feel anything at that moment?

Bresson: Yes, I felt it. I remember once, in the countryside. I was in a room with someone who had invited me and with a third person. We both felt that this person was either going to steal from us, or had already stolen from us.

Journalist: What made you think that?

Bresson: It was a very mysterious feeling, untranslatable in words. And that's what I wanted to express in the film. That feeling... and the terrible loneliness of a thief's prison.

Journalist: What was the starting point for this film?

Bresson: I can't say for sure. But that loneliness — which I didn't want to express directly — was certainly a driving force.

Journalist: Your film is not like most other films. Are you aware of that?

Bresson: No, not at all.

Journalist: But it is known that you are not an admirer of today's cinema. You don't like that kind of "beautifully" constructed film. What do you think of cinema today?

Bresson: There are some films that I like, even though they weren't made in my style. Maybe that's why I go to the cinema less often than I used to. There are things that annoy me, techniques that I would never use. It's natural for me to think that others are wrong, while I'm not.

Journalist: An essential characteristic of your films is the rejection of what is called theatrical...

Bresson: The theatricality that I try to avoid — because it's not that easy — is facial expression, gestures, and sound effects.

Journalist: It seems like you're looking for some kind of "anti-expression." Not only do you not want acting, but you also avoid realism. You "empty" the actors — they seem even less expressive than in real life.

Bresson: I don't see it that way. I try to draw them towards automatism — which is such a big part of our daily lives.

Journalist: Can you understand why people think you're turning your back on what the audience wants to see?

Bresson: I don't think so. It's not something that bothers me. I don't feel like I'm turning my back on the audience — nor that they're turning their back on me. I rely on my own experience. After I make a film, I sit in the audience and try to feel what they're feeling — and I also experience my own initial feelings. Usually, they seem moved. In the end, I realize that the audience has felt exactly what I've felt.

Journalist: Why do you think the audience experienced A Man Who Ran Away more strongly than Pickpocket?

Bresson: Maybe because the story of escape is more... heroic?

Journalist: Dramatic?

Bresson: Not dramatic, but certainly more heroic. The character of the escaped prisoner is more... moral?

Journalist: More charming?

Bresson: Yes. More accessible to many people.

Journalist: Everyone wants to escape. No one admits to being a thief.

Bresson: The story of the prisoner ends with freedom. The story of the thief — with prison.

Journalist: Do you feel like you're at the forefront of the film world?

Bresson: I don't know. But I believe that the films of the future will move even further away from the theater. They will use completely different techniques.

Journalist: Do you think that films that are appreciated today will be forgotten in 20 years?

Bresson: I don't know. I can't say.

Journalist: Do you feel lonely?

Bresson: I feel very alone. And it's not a feeling I get pleasure from.

Burimi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVODh2lkVdc