Bresson explores miscommunication. I haven't read Dostoevsky's novel, and I'm not sure whether my perception of the story would have changed, but I loved how it portrayed a dysfunctional marriage. the director works with the plot in fragments, presenting what happens on screen as a monologue by the main character's husband, for which Elle committed suicide, before attempting to kill him. In parallel, we see moments from their lives together in which objectification reigns supreme, view her as a thing and the desire for control. > Chantal Akerman once said that all her characters are confined within a moral prison, and I now contemplate that the same relates to Robert. here, in  ‘Le Diable probablement’ and ‘Mouchette’ suicide becomes the method of liberation from it. overall, 'Une femme douce‘ is an interesting statement about freedom. about how every person needs it, and despite the fact that we adapt to everything, the man will not be able to deal with an approach of life in which one is permanently subservient to something. it discusses the distinction between love and the urge to possess, through suppressed feelings and silence. I'm not sure which was stronger for Elle: the urge to escape the circumstances that were overpowering her or to hurt her abusive husband. but it's difficult to dispute that after committing suicide, she continued to control their very special power dynamics, compelling Luc to dwell on the repercussions of his actions and what led her to do so, most likely for the rest of his life.

Bresson explores miscommunication. I haven't read Dostoevsky's novel, and I'm not sure whether my perception of the story would have changed, but I loved how it portrayed a dysfunctional marriage. the director works with the plot in fragments, presenting what happens on screen as a monologue by the main character's husband, for which Elle committed suicide, before attempting to kill him. In parallel, we see moments from their lives together in which objectification reigns supreme, view her as a thing and the desire for control. > Chantal Akerman once said that all her characters are confined within a moral prison, and I now contemplate that the same relates to Robert. here, in  ‘Le Diable probablement’ and ‘Mouchette’ suicide becomes the method of liberation from it. overall, 'Une femme douce‘ is an interesting statement about freedom. about how every person needs it, and despite the fact that we adapt to everything, the man will not be able to deal with an approach of life in which one is permanently subservient to something. it discusses the distinction between love and the urge to possess, through suppressed feelings and silence. I'm not sure which was stronger for Elle: the urge to escape the circumstances that were overpowering her or to hurt her abusive husband. but it's difficult to dispute that after committing suicide, she continued to control their very special power dynamics, compelling Luc to dwell on the repercussions of his actions and what led her to do so, most likely for the rest of his life.

"The fault was mine. A man's foolish image of a woman." There are so many methods in which one can be free. To feel understood, seen, validated for your struggles and traits – to be prioritized and caressed – to be considered as a palette of colors; vivid and diverse, with the understanding and grasp of all aspects of one’s character. None of these, align with the marriage of a woman – a bondage that suffocates – and is only valued as a loveless idolization. An inability to connect, the repression and shackling of a woman; prohibiting her from being able to immerse herself with the colors of the world – she is detached, smothered with it. An instrument of pleasure rather than a harmonious work of art – meant to be observed and studied – a woman is only what a man makes her out to be; a contour of body and physicality.

"The fault was mine. A man's foolish image of a woman." There are so many methods in which one can be free. To feel understood, seen, validated for your struggles and traits – to be prioritized and caressed – to be considered as a palette of colors; vivid and diverse, with the understanding and grasp of all aspects of one’s character. None of these, align with the marriage of a woman – a bondage that suffocates – and is only valued as a loveless idolization. An inability to connect, the repression and shackling of a woman; prohibiting her from being able to immerse herself with the colors of the world – she is detached, smothered with it. An instrument of pleasure rather than a harmonious work of art – meant to be observed and studied – a woman is only what a man makes her out to be; a contour of body and physicality.