Helene, a wealthy woman, has just returned home to her lover from a night out on the town. Eager to clean her conscience, she confesses to Jean, her lover, that she has lost the love and passion which made their relationship special. Much to her surprise, Jean quickly agrees, praising her for having the guts to speak her mind and telling her that he no longer loves her. Jean suggests that they remain close friends and confidants but Helene is much more hurt by this than she had anticipated. In an attempt at revenge, Helene forms an elaborate scheme in which she engineers a budding relationship between Jean and a poor young woman, Anges, a cabaret dancer, with Helene's intentions set on making Jean as miserable as she is. Although Ladies of the Park is without question a lesser effort by Robert Bresson, some of Bresson's undeniable talent shines through. The film is rigidly conventional in its approach and the pacing is quite slow, similar to many silent films, but Bresson's unique ability to capture human emotion on such a primal, truthful level on camera is very prevelant. Bresson does a great job at having the viewer understand these characters motivations and somber struggles, particularly with Agnes, who seems to be constantly haunted by her checkered past as a Caberet singer. Bresson's Ladies of the Park is not essential viewing but it definitely provides lots of hints as to the filmmaker which Bresson would ultimately become. 7.25/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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