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Bresson's "Mouchette:" his most difficult film to

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appreciate.
Yes, the actors were natural as ever (he almost exclusively used amateurs), the cinematography perfect, the dialogue sparse but telling, and the story wrenching.
The problem is that Bresson seemed to go out of his way to make moral deductions murky and, for such a renowned Catholic director, negative. If he was saying human beings are wolves unless something, such as religion, intercedes, it wasn't clearly enough stated: what we're left with is one of the bleakest assessments of humanity on film.
SPOILER
We see very long sequences of shots of men mercilessly hunting rabbits and then very soon see characters behaving terribly and cruelly to one another. Bresson, in a move more brave than wise, also makes Mouchette a less than admirable character, showing her to have little emotion toward either her failing mother or her infant brother.
I haven't read the Bernanos novel upon which the film is based but, even if it is similarly dark, Bresson chose to film it so.

Follow Ups:

RE: Bresson's "Mouchette:" his most difficult film to - tinear 04:57:17 10/02/07 (2)
But also... this film unflinchingly portrays the life of the poor criminal underclass, Mouchette's father is a small-time bootlegger and another central character is a poacher by profession, and in telling the story of a severely neglected young woman, Bresson eschews any and all sentimentality: she doesn't have a doll, pet, or other such invention for us to see her in a moment of relief. As I mentioned, even her interaction with her baby brother is impersonal, almost robotic.
In my first post, I was reacting to the overwhelmingly dark world Bresson created. As I thought more about it, I realized how brave, strong, and incorruptible Mouchette was and what a triumph her spirit represented.
The ending, therefore, came as a severe blow and one which I've found difficult to accept.
This is a great film which will have you thinking about the characters long afterwards. As you can see, the thoughts may not easily be reconciled.
- Perhaps his most difficult film to write about... - Rod H. 08:03:39 10/02/07 (1)
  I'd like to write something about it, since I saw it not too long ago. It's hard. All I can say is that the emotional detachment in the film made me feel emotionally detached. I have intellectual memories of what I saw, and am not sure how to interpret them emotionally...which is usually how I remember films...how the film "felt".
  
  It's a real contrast from say "Au Hazard Balthazar".
  
  Rod
  - What I'm left with is the incredible strength, against all the - tinear 07:25:40 10/03/07 (0)
    horrors unrelentingly she faced, which Mouchette showed. She never let her tormentors get the best of her, defeat her will. Ultimately, of course, she was destroyed but it was on her own terms.

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