The Devil, Probably
Dir: Robert Bresson
France, 1977, 95minmins, 35mm
Cast: Antoine Monnier, Tina Irissari, Henri de Maublanc, Laetitia Carcano
Although it won a Silver Bear at the Berlinale, this remains one of Bresson’s most rarely-screened difficult films, where Catholicism meets nihilism in a post-1968 Parisian student milieu. Perhaps fittingly, this Dostoevsky adaptation opens with our hero, Charles, already dead in Père Lachaise cemetery. Flashbacks reveal not only his beauty and his questions, but also demanding questions of political and moral action of this era that remain powerful and pressing to this day. A film Rainer Werner Fassbinder championed as “shattering.”
Further reading:
‘Filmmakers on Bresson – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Robert Bresson by James Quandt (Toronto: Cinematheque Ontario, 1998)
1977 Berlin Film Festival, Silver Bear Special Jury Prize
Remarks
1. Screenings at Broadway Cinematheque are available at Broadway Cinematheque and website of Broadway Circuit only. For related ticketing information, please refer to www.cinema.com.hk.
2. Screenings at Emperor Cinemas iSQUARE, Emperor Cinemas Times Square and PREMIERE Elements : tickets are available at URBTIX till 5pm one day before respective screening, after which tickets will be available only at the box office of the respective venue on the day of screening, subject to availability.
3. Screenings at HK Arts Centre and M+ Cinema : tickets are available at URBTIX outlets until one hour before the screening, after which tickets are available at URBTIX website and mobile app. On-the-day tickets will also be available at the Self-service Ticketing Kiosk of the respective venue, subject to availability.
4. Unless otherwise stated, all films (except English-speaking films) are subtitled in English.
5. While it is the HKIFFS’s policy to secure the best possible print of the original version for all its screenings, the HKIFFS appreciates its patrons’ understanding on occasions when less than perfect screening copies are screened.
