Friday, July 19, 6:00 p.m. | Bresson’s film follows Michel, an emotionally closed young man in Paris who turns to pickpocketing out of financial necessity and a sense of rebellion against societal norms. His solitary existence is disrupted when he meets the sensitive young woman Jeanne. A film about a criminal, but not quite a crime movie, the minimalist PICKPOCKET is a study of moral dilemma and a man caught between a life without obligation but devoid of connection and an honest, more conventional life with Jeanne. Writer and director Paul Schrader (TAXI DRIVER, FIRST REFORMED) has admittedly been paying homage to PICKPOCKET for much of his career, calling it the most influential film in his creative life, and replicating the last shot of the film in many of his own. “In the final scene, there is a burst of emotion, in a movie without emotion,” says Schrader. “What Bresson is trying to do is make you jump…and if you make that jump, he has created something almost unique in film: the movement of a soul, not only the soul on screen, but the soul watching it. He’s asking you to make the leap from the mundane to the transcendent.”

Awards & Nominations

Nominee - Golden Bear, Berlin Film Festival

Last Shot: Stick the landing. Bring it home. Finish strong. In cinema, the last shot is arguably the most important. “This is it, this is the final moment, it is perfect!” only to have it go on, stumbling and fumbling its way to the credits? For all those missed opportunities, there are also the pitch-perfect conclusions, the memorable last looks, the frames that catch your breath in your throat and with pure artistry not only conclude a film but underscore, emphasize, or affirm the entire running time that came before it. Our 11-film Last Shot series explores impeccable resolutions in film. View full Last Shot series. *Spoiler alert: the endings of all films in this series are mentioned (as subtly as possible) in their description, and the accompanying still images do not reflect their final frames.

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu