Robert Bresson

Robert Bresson (September 25, 1901–December 18, 1999) was a French film director and master of minimalism.

Introduction

What is most striking about the cinema of Bresson is the apparent lack of acting. Bresson believed that there was a convention in movies regarding what the spectactor should feel or think, puncuated by music, editing and acting; and that by reducing these techniques or codes to a minimum, he could achieve greater emotional responses from the audience. Instead of having an actor's expression telling the spectator how to feel, the spectator him or herself would be able to simply feel, given the context. Bresson reportedly hired non-actors and shot scenes over and over until they were completely devoided of acting, and the actors would simply say their lines and perform physical actions. The emotional response is often more realistic than usually experienced in cinema.

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