Among Bresson's most austerely moving films, this oddly tranquil
chronicle of human suffering follows the increasingly desperate
events in the life of a provincial girl until their culmination - with
absolute logic and a complete absence of hysteria - in a suicide which
almost seems redemptive. The material is shatteringly bleak, but the
director's compassion is evident in every shot, and his precision in
editing and framing are at a peak. See, for example, the brief sequence
in a coffee shop, where a broken mug and refused croissant add up to one of
the most harrowing scenes in cinema.
