Robert Bresson's Mouchette is a stark and austere film about the randomness of misfortune. Mouchette (Nadine Nortier) is a young teenager living in abject poverty in a small French village. Due to her mother's terminal illness and her father's alcoholism, she is the sole provider for her infant brother. Tormented by fellow students and her teacher, life outside of her home is equally difficult. Nothing Mouchette has done warrants the difficulties life has presented to her – she is simply an accepting victim of her fate, unaware of any potential alternatives. As always, Bresson is objective in presenting the story, allowing the audience to draw its own conclusions. It is a heartbreaking and tragic story of desperation and the struggle to survive, a bleak but somehow rewarding, and possibly even inspiring, cinematic experience.

Colour me impressed for the first time by a Bresson film! Finally, it's safe to say his minimalistic approach works here for me for the most part. A story with a misanthropic world view of a girl that bears the indifference and abasement with her mouth shut most of the time is definitely one that suits if not even demands such method. In the other two films I've seen by him, Pickpocket and L'Argent, scenes showing physical attack or intense emotions — especially in the former — came across as laughably robotic whereas here similar scenes further accentuate the apathy and lack of compassion plaguing Mouchette's village. The striking austerity apparent in some of the abrupt cuts accompanied with economical compositions and extreme close-ups here implemented to bring far more effective results. By suddenly moving from a scene to another, the contrast stemming from such jarring succession hits harder than usual, and by showcasing the subject solely in a frame, every revelation, however subtle it is, is highlighted. This is not saying the film doesn't have moments that had me yawning every now and then, like pretty much every scene has to do with the storyline revolving around Luisa. Even before the opening titles show on screen, Mouchette starts with a woman in tears, lamenting her ill-fated children. No wonder why she does so. Mouchette lives in a cruel, merciless world of bootleggers and poachers. She's humiliated in school by her teacher for refusing to sing or singing off-note while being laughed at by her classmates she's an outcast among them. The only sign of recognition from her alcoholic father is when she's done something wrong and chastised for it. Her bedridden mother has no one but her to do all the housework and care for her and the baby. But who cares, nay, acknowledges her existence. Even when she gets back at her classmates while low-key trying to get their attention, they just run away from her without showing a hint of either annoyance or regard. She's simply a persona non grata in her village. spoilery points and vague allusions to the ending! Early on, we see a bird trapped in a snare not long before it's set free. Whilst this could be seen as a glimmer of hope in the sense it's a foreshadowing metaphor for how things end up for Mouchette, it turns out to be a quite misleading one. Moreover, in a considerably cheerful scene, which are a rarity in this film, we see Mouchette riding a dodgem, bumping into a car of a young man in some sort of filtration, only to be slapped on the face twice by her father a minute or so later. Aside from how it ends, the way this joyous scene of dodgems stands out in such a film shrouded with misery had it hewn in my head throughout the film's runtime, only to recall it later with a similarly-edited scene at the end of rabbits hopelessly dodging the poachers' bullets as our girl witnesses such brutality in mixed emotions of rage and mourning. But this time there are no longer tears rushing out over her cheeks. This was her witnessing an affirmation of her fateful destiny led by ruthlessness and rejection, resulting in confused emotions and unfocused rebellion, and ending with killing innocence and purity. Disregarding the drastically different themes, I couldn't help recalling Jack from Lord of the Flies. Weeping would've been a far more hopeful note to end on, though. P.S. Nadine Nortier delivered one of the best child performances ever in my book.

What an excellent film from the great Robert Bresson. It is a simple story, effectively a tragedy, that follows the story of a young girl who is an outcast. her mother is dying, her father is a useless drunk, and she has a baby brother who needs to be cared for. The way Bresson shoots the film and tells the story really involves you in it. It appears simply told, but there is so much going only from choice and use of music, to sounds effects, to the things happening that Bresson chooses not to show. It is the work of a Master, and I highly recommend it for serious film fans.

Typically of Mr. Bresson's work, Mouchette is difficult to watch, yet well-made. But also as usual, its gloomy storyline is supported by shattering beauty.

Mouchette is wholly and completely devoted to the depiction of cruelty. There isn't an ounce of goodwill portrayed in this film that isn't immediately taken away or nullified by some subsequent action, there are no ups and downs for Mouchette as she tries to live her life, and there are no signs that her suffering has any larger purpose in regards to the human existence. Cruelty exists and it is unflinching and unrelenting to those without the means to fight against it, and Mouchette is certainly one of those helpless souls; we see her struggle to take care of her dying mother, abusive father, and infant brother, we see her raped, beaten, verbally abused, mocked, and threatened to the point that she becomes numb to the world entirely. In a social environment where the poor are considered irrelevant and purposeless, their own struggles due to their own carelessness or laziness, where the destroyed are forgotten and the oppressed ignored, these kinds of films have to be made as a means of rebellion. The world is only death to those like Mouchette, and this message is what makes Mouchette a vital, heartbreaking piece of filmmaking.

"If the eye is entirely won, give nothing or almost nothing to the ear. One cannot be at the same time all eye and all ear." - Bresson

Brutally honest film about the cruelty of life for some at the hands of others and be they human or animal. Mouchette in her subdued way gives the finger to all her tormenters. At the same time we are forced to watch Bresson show us that sometimes death is a blessing. A hugely welcome departure from mainstream North American cinema and television with their cookie cutter heteronormative patriarchal tedious morality.

Didn't hold my attention.

One of the greats, Nadine Nortier's only performance is probably one of the best in cinematic history.

A great young female personality, oppressed and neglected at home, at school, by poverty, the economy, by the meanness and hypocrisy of village life.

The first time i saw this i didn't like it. It didn't help that it is very disturbing and depressing. But something about the Haunting look of the main character, ( Mouchette is a 14 year old French girl) and the genius film style of Robert Bresson that made me reluctantly go back to it. It is not a difficult film to understand but i had to see it about five times before the full impact of the tragedy seeped into me. So see it if you've got the courage, but you may need as much patience as I had.

Isolation & desolation, people's cruelty & misjudges &.... , Well I can go on & on about this masterpiece's greatness but I don't think I can find the right words to describe it

Ho voluto vedere questo film dopo aver visto Rosetta dei fratelli Dardenne che rappresenta appunto una rivisitazione moderna di Mouchette di Bresson. Di certo Mouchette riesce ad essere molto più cupo, disperato e il personaggio di Mouchette non trova vian d'uscita alla dolorosa esistenza e agli eventi che il destino le ha riservato, se non morendo quasi per gioco in uno dei finali più agghiaccianti della storia del cinema costruito con sapiente originalità dal grande regista francese. Visto su Youtube in francese con sottotitoli in inglese.

It's a great companion piece to Bresson's ''Au Hasard Balthazar.'' It's just as poignant and heartbreaking. Bresson again reveals the harsh truths of human nature. Must-not-miss.

Using little dialogue and relying heavily on his typically elliptical editing and intrusive sound, Bresson creates yet another stunning portrait of a life in turmoil. The tragedy of her life is heavy, yet in Mouchette we cannot escape the reality of grace: the ending music, along with a couple of brief glimmers during the film, complicate the tragedy in a productive, and even hopeful, fashion. When nothing good is left in her life, mercy still finds Mouchette.

Mouchette is supposed to be a suffering martyr of some kind, but â~m not sure why. Yes, the family is poor, mum is sick and dad goes out at night to deal in contraband, but is that enough to warp your mind and deaden your soul? Why does she refuse to sing in school and throw mud at her schoolmates? Bresson is just sloppy here: a few more psychological angle shots wouldnâ(TM)t have been amis, just to really set the background on Mouchetteâ(TM)s despair.

Mouchette is a decent film which meanders a bit too much from one helpless situation to another. I understand that it is an attempt at minimalism, however, the story did not capture my imagination whatsoever. Perhaps the idea behind the story was more fascinating and would make for a good philosophical discussion, yet the execution does not work.

"compassionate", "unflinching", or just a snare?

A dark, almost plotless study of suffering - with no escape.

First rewatch in about five years. Bresson loves his stories about suppressed individuality suffering and striving for freedom. Notorious for his extremist, minimalist style, I found it fascinating how Mouchette becomes such a sympathetic character almost secretly; she's hateful yet somehow innocent, and her quiet, judging glances at those around her serve as replacement for a typical movie's expository dialogue. This is another example of a movie that, in someone else's hands, could have ended up being a preachy neo-realist film. But instead, it's prose.