Mouchette (1967, M)

Dir: Robert Bresson, France, 82mins, 35mm

Mouchette is the adolescent daughter, drudge and carer of an abusive father, sickly mother and infant brother. Her teachers beat her, the few friendships she develops are either slapped down by her father or betrayed by those who find her naiveté easy to exploit. When the little spare love that her mother can offer is finally snuffed out, Mouchette’s desperation becomes utter. For maybe his most heart-wrenching examination of emotional and spiritual desolation, Bresson returned to the same source he’d drawn on for his milestone Diary of a Country Priest – the austere writings of Catholic mystic Georges Bernanos. 'Mouchette … is found everywhere: wars, concentration camps, tortures, assassinations’ (Robert Bresson). Presented with the support of the Embassy of France and the Institut Français.