In 1977, Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a member of the jury at the Berlin Film Festival. He threatened to walk out with British critic Derek Malcolm unless their support for Bresson’s 'The Devil, Probably' (1977) for the top prize was made public. The movie ended up sharing the second prize, the Silver Bear, with two other films.
Fassbinder's thoughts on the film:
"Fassbinder: Robert Bresson's 'The Devil, Probably' (1977), which is the most shattering film I've seen in this Berlin Festival. I think it's a major film; but then people say - but what if you show a film like this to the man in the street and he doesn't understand it? First of all, I think that's wrong. But even if it's true, doesn't it mean that in the future - and this world will probably last for another few thousand years - this film will be more important than all the rubbish which is now considered important but which never really goes deep enough? The questions Bresson asks will never be unimportant.
Interviewer: What about the problems raised in Bresson's film - are they rejecting all existing political forms?
Fassbinder: Yes, rejecting every commitment. Because commitment for the film's young characters - whom he seems to understand so well - is mainly an escape into an 'occupation' which keeps that commitment alive. An escape from the awareness that everything goes on regardless of you and your commitment."
("Robert Bresson", Edited by James Quandt, 1998)
P.S: On this day, 49 years ago, 'The Devil, Probably' (1977) was released in France.