Why shouldn't I put ten times more doors in my films if I feel like it?

August 30, 2018 8:06 AM

"The Doors:" every single shot of a door opening and/or closing in Robert Bresson’s L’Argent (1983) in sequential order.

At 14 minutes and 36 seconds, "The Doors" comprises about 17% of L'Argent's entire running time.

Bresson's obsession with doors was a constant in all his movies, as Kogonada demonstrates in a video essay called "Once There Was Everything."

Previously: another Kogonada supercut, this time on Bresson's way with hands.

posted by Iridic (5 comments total)

Nice. Something about it fits with the Russian novelist style it is inspired by. I especially liked the shots of door action filmed through another door. I counted 4 of those by the halfway point, but now I need to run to class, so it will remain an estimate!
posted by TreeRooster at 8:31 AM on August 30, 2018

This is all I could think about as I watched it.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:50 AM on August 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

This would be a good project for Lubitsch movies as well. Doors play a big role in Ernst's imagination, mostly in keeping the most risqué elements just barely out of sight.
posted by gusottertrout at 9:59 AM on August 30, 2018

Oddly satisfying. I love the sounds of the doors opening and closing! Especially old French doors.
posted by sucre at 10:29 AM on August 30, 2018

Ha just clicked on the movie link without reading, and I thought this was just a short film someone made that was obsessed with doors, like there'd be cleverly hidden clues that would reveal what the heck was going on and what exactly it had to do with doors maybe. I guess I sort of get the overall plot, but the nature of the specific crime or the reason for the protagonist's release are not obvious. Still enjoyable, maybe I'll watch the real thing one of these days.
posted by Ansible at 1:27 PM on August 30, 2018