The Network of Fragments: The Logic of Image and Narrative in Robert Bresson’s Mouchette (1967)

Abstract

This study analyzes the function of a method known as fragmentation in Robert Bresson’s film Mouchette (1967). Fragmentation refers to a method of constructing a narrative through a series of close-up shots of space and body parts. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the function of this fragmentation in the complex relationship between image and narrative in Mouchette. For the purpose, first, I will examine Jacques Rancière’s argument that Bresson’s fragmentation is an extreme short-circuit of causality to demonstrate the inadequacy of Rancière’s argument through the analysis of the opening sequence of Mouchette. I will then present Gilles Deleuze’s argument that fragmentation, in fact, produces images pregnant with a multiplicity of potential connections and functions to break causal connections. After contrasting Rancière’s emphasis on the logic of narrative with Deleuze’s emphasis on the potentiality of images in terms of fragmentation, the function of fragmentation will be expanded upon in detail by analyzing the relationship between the shots in the opening sequence and the film’s overall narrative. Finally, I conclude that Bresson’s method of fragmentation constructs a complex network. In this network, shots whose meaning is initially ambiguous are organically connected to completely different shots, thereby creating meaning.