Janus Films has released a new restoration of Robert Bresson’s tenth feature film, Four Nights of a Dreamer (1971), and it is currently playing in select theaters ahead of a probable physical release. Bresson is revered among cinephiles as one of the greatest directors of film, but several of his late-career films are underseen, in part due to lack of distribution. This film, in particular, is a standout example of his minimalist style and vision for what films ought to be.
Four Nights of a Dreamer follows two young Parisians, Jacques (Guillaume des Forêts) and Marthe (Isabelle Weingarten), as they meet and talk at the Pont Neuf bridge across four nights. Jacques is a shy and sensitive artist who quickly falls for Marthe. Marthe, however, loves another man—a former lover who has been abroad for a year. Yet Marthe has not heard from this man, despite his promise to reunite with Marthe upon his return.
Four Nights of a Dreamer is based on a Fyodor Dostoevsky short story called “White Nights”, which had previously been adapted to a film of the same name by Luchino Visconti in 1957. Visconti’s film is good in its own right, but it has several stylistic trappings that Bresson hated: heightened performances, swelling musical cues, and an emphasis on melodrama. So it is unsurprising that Bresson’s film bears nearly no resemblance to Visconti’s despite following the same basic plot points.
Like nearly all of Bresson’s films, Four Nights of a Dreamer uses non-actors (in fact, he preferred the term “model” to “actor”) who deliver their lines simply and plainly. Yet I think it is a misnomer that Bresson did not want naturalistic performances. Both his leads, but especially Weingarten, use subtle gestures and understated inflections to imbue their characters with life. It is simply that Bresson hated theatricality, believing it had no place in the cinema.
The minimalist performance style has a surprising effect. A film like Visconti’s White Nights does all the work for you, giving you melodramatic performances designed to pull on your heartstrings and tell you precisely what the characters feel. But a film like Four Nights of a Dreamer makes you do the work – the work of empathy, of considering how you might feel if you were in their place. Paradoxically, it can make you feel more deeply because you are participating in the drama rather than being manipulated by it.
The deep feelings of wistfulness and longing that the film provokes are all the more surprising because neither of the lead characters comes off particularly well. Jacques is a loner who is socially awkward, particularly around women. Marthe is clinging to the hopes of a romance with a man whose actions deserve no such loyalty. Yet the film treats its leads with gentleness and compassion, without attempting to hide their flaws, and it is better for doing so.
There is a minimalism and simplicity to Bresson’s films, and yet, they are more defined by what they do than what they don’t. The richness with which he captures the world of Four Nights of a Dreamer is unparalleled. Nighttime Paris sparkles in this new restoration, with the deep blues practically popping off the screen. The Pont Neuf bridge is a rich locale that is woven into the fabric of the story. Several times, musical interludes interrupt or accompany the action in the form of street performances, allowing for reflection and association.
There is a lightness to Four Nights of a Dreamer that is unique in Bresson’s filmography. Yet the film is no less important or reflective of the depth of human experience than his films that tackle heavy subject matter and the worst parts of humanity. Here, Bresson uses his unique gifts and vision to capture a softer side of life – the universal feelings of love and longing.
