Overview
A tale of innocence lost as a single act of greed spirals into chaos.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- austere
- bleak
- haunting
- serious film study
- quiet evening
What critics said
Critics widely regard Bresson's final film as a formally rigorous, haunting, and poetic indictment of money's destructive power.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The forged 500-franc note passes through businesses and individuals, linking economic exchange to escalating exploitation and violence.
Bresson's economical storytelling and suppressed emotional presentation make criminal consequences feel stark and spiritually opaque.
The forged note moves from deliberate fraud to an innocent victim and ultimately toward crime and murder.
The screenplay adapts Tolstoy's novella and turns its circulation-of-money premise into a meditation on guilt, punishment, and the mysteries of conscience.
Films like L'Argent, and why
Pickpocket
austere moral drama examining crime, guilt, and spiritual corruption through rigorous minimalist filmmaking
A Man Escaped
economical french crime drama focused on social systems, alienation, and the consequences of illicit acts
Le Samouraï
bleak, formally controlled meditation on money, violence, and moral collapse
The Trial of Joan of Arc
literary, spiritually charged crime drama with stark observation of culpability and redemption
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Bresson
- Release Date
- 1983-05-18
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (302)
Cast
- Christian Patey
- Vincent Risterucci
- Sylvie Van Den Elsen
- Michel Briguet
- Caroline Lang
- Marc Ernest Fourneau
- Jean-Frédéric Ducasse
- Didier Baussy
- Jeanne Aptekman
- François-Marie Banier
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is L'Argent about?
- A forged banknote travels through Paris, exposing how ordinary economic transactions can nourish crime, violence, and spiritual ruin.
- What is L'Argent like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of L'Argent as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is L'Argent violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in L'Argent as moderate.
- What did critics think of L'Argent?
- Critics widely regard Bresson's final film as a formally rigorous, haunting, and poetic indictment of money's destructive power.
- Which films are like L'Argent?
- Films with a similar feel include Pickpocket, A Man Escaped, Le Samouraï, and The Trial of Joan of Arc.
- How long is L'Argent?
- L'Argent runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch L'Argent?
- In United States, L'Argent streams on Criterion Channel.
