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      A Gentle Creature

      Released Sep 19, 1969 1h 28m Drama List
      92% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 85% Audience Score 500+ Ratings Elle (Dominique Sanda) steps off the balcony of her Parisian apartment, plunging to her death. Why has she done it? As her pawnbroker husband, Luc (Guy Frangin), looks over her dead body, director Robert Bresson's eerie, elegant picture traces their lives together in flashback. Elle is the "Gentle Creature" -- meek, dreamy and thoughtful. She entrances Luc, who pursues her passionately. They marry, but the match never seems right, and things turn sour, grimly heading toward an inevitable end. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (13) Critics Reviews
      Peter Bradshaw Guardian It is an unforgiving film: sombre, difficult, like a medieval poem. Rated: 5/5 Aug 2, 2019 Full Review Tom Milne Time Out Bresson's first film in colour, a wonderfully lucid adaptation of Dostoievsky's enigmatic short story. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Roger Greenspun New York Times The usual language of critical praise seems beside the point in discussing Bresson, but please understand that I mean this to be a rave review. Rated: 5/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia Bresson, who adapts it from a short story by Dostoyevsky, uses his ascetic style to narrate a tragic drama about jealousy, isolation and marital unhappiness. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jun 5, 2021 Full Review Lewis Teague Los Angeles Free Press Bresson is the master of the medium shot. Jan 17, 2020 Full Review Arthur Ross Los Angeles Free Press It is not concerned with the moment-to-moment build of linear scenes to an emotional climax or catharsis. Jan 8, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Beware! Very bleak, very serious, very dull. Other reviewers have gushed and called it 'magnificent' and 'haunting' however you may find yourself wondering what the fuss is about and very quickly not caring what happens to the painfully moody protagonists. If you enjoy people getting into cars and driving off and people opening doors and closing them, then this could be the film for you. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member A young woman kills herself and we don't know why. Her story is told afterwards, interupted by some scenes taking place while she lies dead in bed. We never get the full story, we see how she got together with her husband, quite recently, and how they relationship was. Did she fail to adapt to the way of life that her husband wanted? Did he fail? Robert Bresson directed this slow drama, based on a Dostoevsky short story, as it's slowly half-opens up. It's not to say that it gives you many answers or that it will keep you thrilled. It's pretty flat and mysterious. It's safe to say that she never really loved her guy, but maybe it was her only choice? Not your standard romantic drama. It a sad and philosophical, bleak film, minimalistic and different. 6 out of 10 scarfs. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Robert Bresson adapts a story by Dostoievsky for one of his best films, a study of the dynamics of marriage and relationships, 1960's style. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member In his most underrated feature, Bresson tells a very simple story about an unhappy marriage, what is so dynamic like Hitchock in his best form. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member First Bresson film in color. It's subtle, slow, oppressing. A beautiful poor girl finds a bourgeois husband whose jealousy kills her steadily. Bresson has always been obsessed with movements (arms, feet, steps). It's an odd but interesting film director's point of view, a bit old fashion though especially with this slow rhythm. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member http://how-girl-gets-ring-answers.com/effective-tips-on-how-do-you-get-a-boyfriend Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      A Gentle Creature

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Elle (Dominique Sanda) steps off the balcony of her Parisian apartment, plunging to her death. Why has she done it? As her pawnbroker husband, Luc (Guy Frangin), looks over her dead body, director Robert Bresson's eerie, elegant picture traces their lives together in flashback. Elle is the "Gentle Creature" -- meek, dreamy and thoughtful. She entrances Luc, who pursues her passionately. They marry, but the match never seems right, and things turn sour, grimly heading toward an inevitable end.
      Director
      Robert Bresson
      Screenwriter
      Robert Bresson, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
      Distributor
      New Yorker Films
      Production Co
      Slot Machine, Arte France Cinema
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      French (Canada)
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 19, 1969, Original
      Runtime
      1h 28m