French master filmmaker Robert Bresson adds yet another deeply thoughtful motion picture to his canon with A GENTLE WOMAN, based on a Fyodor Dostoyevsky short story. (In 1959, Bresson used Dostoyevsky's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT as inspiration for his masterpiece PICKPOCKET.) When a young,... [More]

French master filmmaker Robert Bresson adds yet another deeply thoughtful motion picture to his canon with A GENTLE WOMAN, based on a Fyodor Dostoyevsky short story. (In 1959, Bresson used Dostoyevsky's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT as inspiration for his masterpiece PICKPOCKET.) When a young, dissatisfied wife (Dominique Sanda) commits suicide, her confused, distraught husband (Guy Frangin) must sort through the possible reasons why. As the story unfolds in flashback, narrated by her husband, the signs begin to show themselves. From the very beginning, her commitment to their relationship seemed vague and less than assured. But when jealousy began infiltrating her husband's mind, the resulting tensions put a strain on her fragility that became too much to bear. Pushed to her limits, she contemplated murdering him with a handgun. Unable to perform such a condemnable action, she instead turned her sorrows inward, resulting in a suicide that will torment her husband forever. A GENTLE WOMAN is a complex and dense exposé of sexual power politics and human relationships, told in Bresson's distinct, understated manner. In failing to provide any definite answers, he challenges the viewer to contemplate his or her own personal relationships and, in doing so, comes up with another striking achievement. [Less]