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Christian Patey, Sylvie Van den Elsen, Michel Briguet, Caroline Lang, Vincent Risterucci ... see more see more... , Beatrice Tabourin , Didier Baussy Oulianoff , Marc Ernest Fourneau , Bruno Lapeyre , Jeanne Aptekman , Andre Cler , Claude Cler , Alain Aptekman , Francois-Marie Banier

The last film by veteran writer/director Robert Bresson, the French crime drama L'Argent (Money) was based on a short story by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. Looking for some quick cash, young man Norb... read more read more...ert (Marc Ernest Fourneau) gets a phony 500 franc note from his friend Matrial (Bruno Lapeyre). After he spends it at a photography shop, the unscrupulous shop owner (Didier Baussy) decides to pass it on to someone else. The unfortunate victim is honest delivery man Yvon Targe (Christian Patey), who doesn't realize the bill is a fake. When he tries to buy some food with it, he is arrested. He tries to sue the photographer, but shop assistant Lucien (Vincent Risterucci) has been bribed to stay quiet about the transaction. The scandal causes Yvon to lose his job. In order to support his family, he tries driving a getaway car for some criminals. Unfortunately, their heist doesn't go so well, and he is sent to prison for three years. While incarcerated, his child dies of diphtheria and his wife (Caroline Lang) leaves him. Crazed, Yvon turns to theft, violent crime, and eventually cold-blooded murder. L'Argent earned (Bresson) the Director's Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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81% liked it

2,672 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

18 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: Robert Bresson

Release Date: January 1, 1983

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DVD Release Date: May 24, 2005

Stats: 145 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (145)

  • webalina
    March 16, 2011
    webalina
    Two young men pass a counterfeit bill off to a photo shop, who then (knowingly) passes it off to a delivery man. This starts a chain of events during which the delivery man's life spirals right into the toilet, culminating in his commission of a horrific act. It took me two viewi... read morengs to finally get what was going on.

    The first time I watched this film, I couldn't quite follow the story, due to Robert Bresson's directorial style. It can best be described as "yada yada". He tends to leave out the boring bits -- exposition and such -- and just shows us the meaty parts. It reminds me of someone showing me photos of their vacation. A video would give a fuller picture the trip, while the photos only hit the highlights. Bresson also uses non-professionals as actors -- I'm told he called them "models" and directed them to speak in a somewhat monotone pattern, and then it was up to the audience to gleen the emotion from the scenes, based on the dialogue and direction.That can at times make the acting seem wooden and formal, but it some ways it actually works.

    Anyway, the 2nd time around (and after viewing another Bresson film and getting a feel for his style), everything was more clear. Can't say I ENJOYED the film -- it's a crime/murder drama -- but I don't feel like I wasted the couple of hours (x 2) that I spent watching it.
  • fb1142797643
    November 12, 2011
    fb1142797643
    You are reading in a large campus library. Your ear picks up a sound. In the distance, someone in dress shoes walks toward your section. Her heels coldly resonate on the tiled floor. Click, click, click, click. The sound grows louder as she nears. Click, click, click, click. Dist... read moreracted, you lift your eyes and frown. She finally passes, unaware of your irritation. Her steps fade slowly -- too slowly -- as she continues onward behind your back.

    Until "L'Argent" mercifully switches to a rural setting near the end, the entire film is like this. Torture. You've never heard so many footsteps as characters numbly, silently tread through various rooms and hallways.

    But the aggravation doesn't stop there. The cast's body language is so bloodless and repressed that your mind may scream at director Robert Bresson to just let his actors be human. Observe the unnatural hand movements. The stiff postures. Even a brief scene where a clerk completes a camera sale turns exasperating. It's shot as if he's a magician doing card tricks.

    This and Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives" (neurotic shaky-cam) are the only two films I've ever seen that actually gave me a headache.

    Based on a Tolstoy short story, "L'Argent" shows how money corrupts via the impact of a single counterfeit bill. Two schoolboys buy a trivial picture frame, only because they want change for a forged, 500-franc note. The naive shopkeeper is later berated by her husband for accepting the money, but she points out that he took two phony bills the day before. Literally passing the buck, he unloads all three bills on a delivery man, Yvon (Christian Patey, just one of the cast's unknown, seemingly untrained actors).

    When Yvon innocently tries to pay for lunch with the money, the waiter calls the police. Yvon is arrested. He avoids prison but loses his job. This sends him into a downward spiral of crime that costs him both his freedom and family.

    Bresson's mimimalist style does have its intrigue. As with some of his other films, there is no musical score. Perfunctory behavior is dwelled upon, while crucial action occurs off-camera. The film is over well within 90 minutes. Its brisk, clinical pace is remarkably distinct. But at what price? Is a movie successful when a tragic story breeds no empathy whatsoever with its characters?
  • Cinema101
    November 16, 2006
    Cinema101
    5/10

    A daring experiment gone not-so-horribly wrong, I hate to sound like a lemming saying this but, I found this film pretentious to the point of insult and downright boring.

View All L'Argent Reviews

Critic Reviews

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

It's tough but it's also rewarding. Full Review

Michael E. Grost
January 31, 2012
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Harrowing crime film about the persecution of a working class man by the rich. Full Review

Laura Clifford
January 2, 2012
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews

...we can see Bresson's influence on Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski, Yvon's curtly procedural trial and subsequent acts a precursor to "A Short Film About Killing." Full Review

Leo Goldsmith
September 20, 2005
Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Bresson is not often noted for his engagement with social issues, but in fact his films consistently address the physical and spiritual effects of poverty and crime. Full Review

Anton Bitel
July 22, 2005
Anton Bitel, Movie Gazette

blank in style and bleak in message... Yet like money itself, the value of L'Argent is no more or less than what one is willing to give it. Full Review

Eric Henderson
June 12, 2005
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine

It's mind-blowing. Full Review

Jeremy Heilman
June 12, 2005
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com

The ending, most of all, shows Bresson's ability to find an alternate route to grace, given the circumstances. Full Review

Doug Cummings
June 11, 2005
Doug Cummings, Filmjourney

L'Argent showcases the filmmaker at the height of his formal ingenuity, particularly his use of narrative ellipses and fragmented space (close-ups of legs, hands, objects). Full Review

Christopher Null
June 5, 2005
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

and clinical, and more than a little depressing Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 30, 2005
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

As others have pointed out, it does not feel like the work of a man in his 80s. Full Review

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L'Argent Trivia

  • What was the name of Robert Bresson's final film?  Answer »
  • In what French town did Truffaut's "L'argent de Poche" take place?  Answer »
  • 'L'Argent' is a fascinating study of class and corruption, inspired by Leo Tolstoy's short story entitled 'The Forged Coupon'. It is also the last film directed by what great French auteur?  Answer »
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