From director Robert Bresson (Pickpocket, Au Hasard Balthazar), this film featuring as one of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die in the book was one I was naturally looking forward to watching, despite not knowing much about it at all, but that didn't matter. Basically a father refuses to give a young man his monthly allowance, demanding more he claims he needs it to pay a school debt, and he doesn't convince his mother either, so he pawns his watch off who provides with a forged 500 franc note, and he is seen perusing some nude art as well. The counterfeit note is taken by the boys to a photo shop where they pretend they want to buy a picture frame so they can exchange the fake note for the real change they will get, obviously afterwards the co-manager spots it is a fraud and tells of his partner for not noticing, it has happened to her twice. The opportunity for a person holding a counterfeit to be caught arises when gas man Yvon Targe (Christian Patey) pays for a restaurant bill, he is arrested but not long after let go, but he does lose his job, and in need of money he helps a friend as a getaway driver in a bank robbery. The robbery goes awry and Yvon is arrested and he is sentenced to three years in prison, and while there he suffers hearing about his daughter dying and his wife writing to him that she is starting a new life elsewhere and therefore leaving him. Yvon has nothing when he is released from prison, and he straight away robs the tills of hotel keepers and murders them as well, he finds help from a kind woman and her family, but he eventually kills them all with an axe, which he goes to a police officer in a restaurant to confess and he is arrested. Also starring Sylvie Van den Elsen as Grey Haired Woman, Michel Briguet as Grey Haired Woman's Father, Caroline Lang as Elise Targe, Vincent Risterucci as Lucien, Béatrice Tabourin as Woman photographer, Didier Baussy as Man photographer, Marc Ernest Fourneau as Norbert and Bruno Lapeyre as Martial. I will be honest and say that occasionally I drifted off in the plot and couldn't understand absolutely everything going on, but there were enough interesting scenes of the fraudulent activities and such things as manipulation going to keep you watching, so it is a worthwhile crime drama. Very good, in my opinion!

when i seen this the other nite on IFC i wasn't quite sure what to make of it, it's definitely a little confusing, but in another sort of way very complicated and interesting. no big stars in this being it's independent which i feel is good because it would have taken away from the movie in general i feel, to the movie it's about what happens when a fake 500 french franc is passed from one person to another.. instead of just eating the note and writing it off, a man proceeds to try to pass it off to the next person setting off a chain of events that sends our main character into a tailspin of events to come. he spins out of control and doing some things that he probably wouldn't normally do,, but since he felt that he was wronged in having the bill passed to him, he figured , well let me get rid of it, overall i think that this is a tigh film worth watching.

Robert Bresson's last film is based on a short story by great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.L'Argent is not at all a direct adaptation of Tolstoy's work of literary production "Faux Billet".It is a film for which Bresson infused some of his own ideas in order to create a different narrative.It was made in 1983 thanks to personal intervention by French minister of culture Jack Lang whose daughter Caroline played an important role in it. L'argent is a Christian story of redemption about an innocent man who is doomed due to the carelessness of reckless people.We see that due to class difference and power struggle Yvon is condemned to hell.L'argent throws light on misfortunes associated with money.It depicts that many people from good backgrounds are involved in wrong doing.In L'Argent, we primarily see a simplicity of actions,gestures,sound and images. Bresson achieved this effect by creating a film in which events happen in quick succession.It is expected that the audience will remain focused in order to appreciate its sequence of events.One would be surprised to note that even violent acts are shown in a cold,detached manner.L'argent is recommended as a good film which is a good example of perfect collaboration between a filmmaker and a writer.

I just wanted to make a quick comment regarding the comment of suekendall about l'argent. L'argent is one of Bresson's biggest masterpieces. A merge of minimalism and strong observation. And as for the actors in l'argent, they are not wooden, they are real. Bresson made frequent use of non-performers to give his film a certain authenticity. I think he succeeded in every aspect. It is a ground breaking film which taught the viewer that it does require very little to create a story. Bresson works demands the viewer's imagination. Moreover, for everyone who has a keen interest in cinematography, this film is a must. Bresson truly succeeded in making the most economic and sensible use of the camera.For everyone who does not like the film, there will be other films to enjoy...but for everyone who is willing to enter Bresson's world, this film is a true eye opener about film, art and humanity.