What is unusual about the framing and editing of this film? How does Bresson play with and alter our expectations? What sorts of things that you would expect to find in a typical crime or action film are excluded from this film? What sorts of details are included, that you would NOT expect to find in a more straightforward narrative film?
To what extent could this film be considered realistic or naturalistic, and to what extent not? How does Bresson make use of actual locations (as opposed to using a studio set)? How does he use ambient sound (the traffic on the street, etc) on one hand, and non-diegetic music, on the other?
How is character developed in this film? What sense do we get of Michel, the protagonist? What is conveyed by his voice-over narration and writing in his diary? What is conveyed by his physical presence on screen, his facial expressions, his gestures? How does this differ from the ways in which character is conveyed through expressive acting in more conventional films?
Why does the film pay so much attention to the actual techniques of the pickpocket? More generally, what sorts of information is the film giving us about Michel and his world? How do these technical details relate to the overall meanings of the film?