In November and December, our special series is dedicated to Final Cut: remarkable endings in the broadest sense of the word.
In post-1968 France, the young, intelligent, and elusive Charles is overcome by a profound sense of alienation and aimlessness. In a futile search for meaning, he turns to politics, religion, psychoanalysis, and drugs — yet nothing succeeds in offering relief from his nihilistic despair. Unable to reconcile himself with the state of the world, he can only fantasize about how to escape it.
In his characteristic style, Bresson paints a layered portrait of a lost generation struggling to find its way amid the modern world and its spiritual emptiness. The Devil, Probably (1977) was at the time banned by the French government for minors, out of fear that it might inspire a wave of suicides among young people.
“Even though Bresson has painted a dark picture of wasted youth and beauty, one comes out of the film with a sense of exultation. When a civilization can produce a work of art as perfectly achieved as this, it’s hard to believe there’s no hope for it.” - Richard Roud