Once There Was Everything

Using a recurring motif, either visual or auditory, as a gateway into a filmmaker’s work is an often used (and often fruitful) strategy. Renowned video essay maker Kogonada is no stranger to this technique: his Hands of Bresson for instance revealed much about the French auteur’s movies by compiling close-ups of hands.

 

In this video essay for the Criterion Collection, Kogonada focusses on another motif that runs through Robert Bresson’s filmography: doors. This beautifully paced video ponders their philosophical meaning, their sounds, the decisions they engender.