Bresson's superb variation on the themes of Crime and Punishment,
narrated in his characteristically economical, minimalist style,
sets the imprisoning force of guilt against the redemptive power of
love. The film's subject matter is bleak, but the final work is
extraordinarily exhilarating. The scenes of theft show the
director's skill in editing at its most perfect; the use of baroque
music (Lully) is exactly judged; and Bresson navigates with complete
assurance to a redeeming revelation of love. The film's thematic
concerns are examined with unmatched rigour, then resolved in a
magnificent final image of liberation: an embrace through prison
bars.
