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Pickpocket

Play trailer Poster for Pickpocket 1963 1h 15m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 46 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Michel (Martin La Salle) takes up pickpocketing on a lark and is arrested soon after. His mother dies shortly after his release, and despite the objections of his only friend, Jacques (Pierre Leymarie), and his mother's neighbor Jeanne (Marika Green), Michel teams up with a couple of petty thieves in order to improve his craft. With a police inspector (Jean Pélégri) keeping an eye on him, Michel also tries to get a straight job, but the temptation to steal is hard to resist.

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Pickpocket

Pickpocket

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Critics Consensus

Narratively spare and told with clockwork precision, Pickpocket is a carefully observed character study that packs an emotional wallop.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 06/03/2022
5/5
A short and flawless wonder. Go to Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian 05/31/2022
5/5
Hypnotically intense and lucid... Go to Full Review Eric Rhode Sight & Sound 01/11/2020
At first one may be impressed by the mystery surrounding these characters, until one realises that they are only mysterious because they are unable to create their own destinies. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 05/04/2024
[Robert Bresson's] austere style, emotionless direction, and minimalist scripts can become frustrating if you don’t connect. But there’s a purity in his ambition to pare away everything but the essential elements of cinema. Go to Full Review Dilys Powell Sunday Times (UK) 08/10/2022
The style of the film is characteristic of the director... But this time the method defeats itself. In rejecting every irrelevant action, in ruthlessly refining away every decoration, Bresson has thrown away the motives as well. Go to Full Review Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia 07/07/2022
A wonderfully flowing character study which treads the border between sanity and lunacy. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kyle M @RT77296778 Aug 21 Monotonously traced and performed with tactical criticism that doesn’t convince, Robert Bresson’s influential stance on morality treads daily connective interactions amid a substantially dedicative character study. (B) See more Tim M @tgmacman Jul 1 An aloof yet layered treatise on the economy of touch, Pickpocket is as steady and precise as its titular thief. See more jacob c @RT09118617 Jun 1 I found Pickpocket to be an expertly crafted portrait of cynicism, escapism and alienation. See more Lars N @movie_douche 03/03/2025 Not much of a story to grab on to.... Guy's being a dick throughout the film, and the woman somehow falls in love him anyway. See more Alexsander F @Aelxs 02/16/2025 Um bom filme do ponto de vista cinematográfico e de roteiro, mas confesso que foi meio difícil de assistir, mesmo sendo um longa breve. See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 11/29/2024 Only a short watch at an hour and a quarter but still this dragged. A promising start gives way to French philosophical stiltedness and I never cared for the characters. It was a pretty dull piece of cinema that I don’t wish to see again but it cost me a little to get a copy for the library. Watched it on Blu-ray. See more Read all reviews
Pickpocket

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Cast & Crew

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Robert Bresson

Director

Martin LaSalle

Michel

Marika Green

Jeanne

Pierre Leymarie

Jacques

Jean Pélégri

Chief Inspector

Dolly Scal

La mère

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Pickpocket

Pickpocket (1959) Pickpocket (1959) Pickpocket (1959) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Michel (Martin La Salle) takes up pickpocketing on a lark and is arrested soon after. His mother dies shortly after his release, and despite the objections of his only friend, Jacques (Pierre Leymarie), and his mother's neighbor Jeanne (Marika Green), Michel teams up with a couple of petty thieves in order to improve his craft. With a police inspector (Jean Pélégri) keeping an eye on him, Michel also tries to get a straight job, but the temptation to steal is hard to resist.
Director
Robert Bresson
Producer
Agnès Delahaie
Screenwriter
Robert Bresson
Distributor
New Yorker Films
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
May 26, 1963, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Runtime
1h 15m
Sound Mix
Mono