Movie

Pickpocket

1959 · 75 min

A spare, quietly intense character study that feels like watching a man's soul slowly surface through his compulsive hands.

Tagline: To reach you at last, what a strange path I had to take.
Overview: Michel takes up pickpocketing on a lark and is arrested soon after. His mother dies shortly after his release, and despite the objections of his only friend, Jacques, and his mother's neighbor Jeanne, Michel teams up with a couple of petty thieves in order to improve his craft. With a police inspector keeping an eye on him, Michel also tries to get a straight job, but the temptation to steal is hard to resist.

Stream in the UK

BFI Player

More options Data from JustWatch

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: isolation
morality
obsession
guilt
redemption
Places: big city
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	1
Humour	1
Realism	8
Romance	4
Tension	6
Darkness	7
Complexity	7
Emotional weight	8

Titles like Pickpocket

Movie

The Stranger

2025

A detached, sun-drenched plunge into a man's indifference, where the heat and silence press on you as much as the looming judgment.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and guilt · nonlinear

Via: bleak
melancholic
isolation
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 122 min

Details In your watch list

The StrangerHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Au Hasard Balthazar

1966

A quietly devastating, austere experience that follows a donkey's suffering with unblinking compassion, leaving a profound sense of sorrow and transcendence.

Same director: Robert Bresson · Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and morality · nonlinear

Also: Same director: Robert Bresson
Via: bleak
melancholic
isolation
morality
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 96 min

Details In your watch list

Au Hasard BalthazarHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

High and Low

1963

A slow-burning moral thriller that moves from a tense domestic standoff to a meticulous police procedural, ending on a haunting note of class resentment.

Melancholic, tense · about morality and obsession · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
tense
morality
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 142 min

Details In your watch list

High and LowHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

L'Argent

1983

Cold, spare and quietly devastating, it follows a small lie as it spreads and quietly destroys a life.

Same writer: Robert Bresson · Slow-burn · about isolation and guilt

Also: Same writer: Robert Bresson
Via: isolation
guilt
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 85 min

Details In your watch list

L'ArgentHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The 400 Blows

1959

A poignant, naturalistic portrait of misunderstood youth, blending tender moments with quiet despair and a lingering sense of yearning.

Bleak, melancholic · about isolation · nonlinear

Via: bleak
melancholic
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 99 min

Details In your watch list

The 400 BlowsHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Three Colours: Red

1994

A quiet, intricate meditation on connection and chance, demanding patience but rewarding with emotional depth and haunting beauty.

Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about isolation · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
tense
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 100 min

Details In your watch list

Three Colours: RedHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

A Man Escaped

1956

Quiet, meticulous, and unbearably tense; you watch every small sound and gesture with held breath.

Same writer: Robert Bresson · Bleak, tense, slow-burn · about isolation

Also: Same writer: Robert Bresson
Via: bleak
tense
isolation
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 101 min

Details In your watch list

A Man EscapedHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Heat

1995

A cool, controlled crime epic that builds tension through meticulous detail and quiet character moments, culminating in explosive set pieces and a haunting sense of inevitability.

Melancholic, tense · about isolation and obsession

Via: melancholic
tense
isolation
obsession
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 170 min

Details In your watch list

HeatHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Diary of a Country Priest

1951

A quiet, spiritually intense experience that demands patience, offering a slow, melancholic immersion into one man's crisis of faith.

Same writer: Robert Bresson · Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and guilt · nonlinear

Also: Same writer: Robert Bresson
Via: bleak
melancholic
isolation
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 115 min

Details In your watch list

Diary of a Country PriestHidden from your suggestions.

TV series

Lupin

2021

A sleek, playful cat-and-mouse caper that glides through Paris with charm, clever disguises and a steady tug of personal stakes.

Tense · nonlinear

Via: tense
nonlinear
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Seasons: 3

Details In your watch list

LupinHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Four Nights of a Dreamer

1972

A quiet, drifting walk through Paris at night, lonely and tender, with moments of whimsy and ache.

Same director: Robert Bresson · Melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and obsession · nonlinear

Also: Same director: Robert Bresson
Via: melancholic
isolation
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 82 min

Details In your watch list

Four Nights of a DreamerHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Man from London

2008

A slow, brooding plunge into guilt and isolation, with stark black-and-white images and an oppressive atmosphere that lingers.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and morality · nonlinear

Via: bleak
melancholic
isolation
morality
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 139 min

Details In your watch list

The Man from LondonHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Stream

BFI Player

Rent or buy

Apple TV Store
Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: crime, drama
Directed by: Robert Bresson
Written by: Robert Bresson
Starring: Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri, Dolly Scal, Pierre Leymarie, Kassagi, Pierre Étaix, César Gattegno
Cinematography: Léonce-Henri Burel
Runtime: 75 min
Country: France
Languages: French

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

Pickpocket

How it feels

More like this

Titles like Pickpocket

Where to watch in the UK

Details