L'Argent (1983 film)
Encyclopedia
L'Argent is a 1983 French drama film directed by Robert Bresson
. It is loosely inspired by the first part of Leo Tolstoy
's nouvelle The Forged Coupon
. It was Bresson's last film. It earned its maker the Director's Prize
at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival
.
500-franc
note. After the trade, the youth lingers to peruse an album of nude art, with similar images to appear throughout the film.
The boys take the counterfeit to a photo shop and change it on the pretext of buying a picture frame. When the store co-manager finds out, he scolds his partner for her lack of wariness. She chides him in return for having accepted two forged notes the previous week. He then vows to pass off all the forged notes in their possession at the next opportunity, which arises when a gas man, Yvon, comes in with a bill.
Yvon tries to pay a restaurant tab with the forged notes, but the waiter recognizes them as counterfeit. Yvon is arrested, but avoids jail time; however, he loses his job. Needing money, he acts as the get-away car driver for a friend's bank robbery. The robbery is foiled by police, and Yvon is arrested. He is sentenced to prison for three years. While in prison, his daughter dies and his wife writes to him that she is leaving him to start a new life.
When released from prison, Yvon has nothing. Right away, he murders hotel keepers and robs their till. He then hides out in the house of a kind woman and her family. Some time passes, and one night Yvon kills everyone in the house with an axe. He goes to a restaurant, confesses to a police officer, and is arrested.
wrote in The New York Times
: "That Robert Bresson, the veteran French director, is still one of the most rigorous and talented film makers of the world is evident with the appearance of his beautiful, astringent new film, L'Argent". Canby wrote: "Like all Bresson films, L'Argent can't be interpreted exclusively in social, political or psychological terms. ... L'Argent would stand up to Marxist analysis, yet it's anything but Marxist in outlook. It's far too poetic - too interested in the mysteries of the spirit."
at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival
, tied with Andrei Tarkovsky
for Nostalghia
. L'Argent was nominated for Best Sound
at the César Awards 1984
. It won the 1984 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director
.
Robert Bresson
-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
. It is loosely inspired by the first part of Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's nouvelle The Forged Coupon
The Forged Coupon
The Forged Coupon is a novella in two parts by Leo Tolstoy. Though he first conceived of the story in the late 1890s, he did not begin writing it until 1902. After struggling for several years, he finally completed the story in 1904; however, it was not published until some of Tolstoy's shorter...
. It was Bresson's last film. It earned its maker the Director's Prize
Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival
1983 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*William Styron *Henri Alekan *Yvonne Baby *Sergei Bondarchuk *Youssef Chahine *Souleymane Cissé *Gilbert de Goldschmidt *Mariangela Melato *Karel Reisz...
.
Plot
A young man enters his father's study to claim a monthly allowance. His father obliges, but the son presses for more, citing a debt at school he must pay. The father dismisses him and an appeal to his mother fails. This leads him to pawn off his watch to a friend who, instead of paying him, provides him with a forgedCounterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
500-franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
note. After the trade, the youth lingers to peruse an album of nude art, with similar images to appear throughout the film.
The boys take the counterfeit to a photo shop and change it on the pretext of buying a picture frame. When the store co-manager finds out, he scolds his partner for her lack of wariness. She chides him in return for having accepted two forged notes the previous week. He then vows to pass off all the forged notes in their possession at the next opportunity, which arises when a gas man, Yvon, comes in with a bill.
Yvon tries to pay a restaurant tab with the forged notes, but the waiter recognizes them as counterfeit. Yvon is arrested, but avoids jail time; however, he loses his job. Needing money, he acts as the get-away car driver for a friend's bank robbery. The robbery is foiled by police, and Yvon is arrested. He is sentenced to prison for three years. While in prison, his daughter dies and his wife writes to him that she is leaving him to start a new life.
When released from prison, Yvon has nothing. Right away, he murders hotel keepers and robs their till. He then hides out in the house of a kind woman and her family. Some time passes, and one night Yvon kills everyone in the house with an axe. He goes to a restaurant, confesses to a police officer, and is arrested.
Cast
- Christian Patey as Yvon Targe
- Vincent Risterucci as Lucien
- Caroline Lang as Elise
- Sylvie Van den Elsen as Grey Haired Woman
- Michel Briguet as Grey Haired Woman's Father
- Béatrice Tabourin as La photographe
- Didier Baussy as Le photographe
- Marc Ernest Fourneau as Norbert
- Bruno Lapeyre as Martial
Critical response
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
wrote in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
: "That Robert Bresson, the veteran French director, is still one of the most rigorous and talented film makers of the world is evident with the appearance of his beautiful, astringent new film, L'Argent". Canby wrote: "Like all Bresson films, L'Argent can't be interpreted exclusively in social, political or psychological terms. ... L'Argent would stand up to Marxist analysis, yet it's anything but Marxist in outlook. It's far too poetic - too interested in the mysteries of the spirit."
Accolades
Bresson received the Director's PrizeBest Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival
1983 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*William Styron *Henri Alekan *Yvonne Baby *Sergei Bondarchuk *Youssef Chahine *Souleymane Cissé *Gilbert de Goldschmidt *Mariangela Melato *Karel Reisz...
, tied with Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
for Nostalghia
Nostalghia
Nostalghia is a 1983 Soviet film, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and starring Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano and Erland Josephson.The plot of the film centers around the meaning of the term nostalgia, which describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form.-Plot:The opening scene is a...
. L'Argent was nominated for Best Sound
César Award for Best Sound
This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Sound .-Winners and nominees:*1976 : Nara Kollery *1977 : Jean-Pierre Ruh *1978 : Jacques Maumont...
at the César Awards 1984
César Awards 1984
The 1984 César Awards were hosted by Gene Kelly. The winners were:*Best Film:La Bal, directed by Ettore ScolaÀ nos amours, directed by Maurice PialatCoup de foudre, directed by Diane KurysTchao pantin, directed by Claude BerriL'Été meurtrier, directed by Jean Becker*Best Foreign Film:Fanny and...
. It won the 1984 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director
The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director is an annual award given by National Society of Film Critics to honor the best film director of the year....
.