Pickpocket

The austere nature of Robert Bresson's films allows much to be read into them, but then, that is how he wants it. His preoccupation with spiritual matters, symbolism, and redemption are rarely overt, yet a natural and essential part of his filmmaking. This film is said to be inspired by Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment in which a young pickpocket believes himself above common morality, yet secretly fears that he may not be. He establishes a cat-and-mouse relationship with a police inspector in which they discuss their theories of justice and morality, scenes that remind me of those tense moments with James Stewart in Rope. He loves a woman who loves him, but is afraid to be with her. There's a virtuoso sequence in which a group of pickpockets rob the passengers of a train -- it's a sequence that reminds me of Jacques Becker or even Alfred Hitchcock. The ending most of all lingers in mind leaving me with some interesting spiritual implications.