Four Nights of a Dreamer

Another of Bresson’s adaptations of Dostoevsky—the first being Pickpocket, a loose interpretation of Crime and Punishment—this time of the novella White Nights. Bresson relocates the story from 1848 St. Petersburg to 1970 Paris, while preserving its emotional essence. One night, a shy, sensitive young man meets a beautiful, high-spirited woman weighed down by sorrow. He comforts her and walks her home, and they agree to meet again the next day. Thus begins a series of encounters in which the two gradually share their life stories. But while he falls in love with her—or so he believes—she ultimately chooses another man.