{"id":13224,"date":"2010-11-15T13:38:39","date_gmt":"2010-11-15T20:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13224"},"modified":"2021-01-14T09:15:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T16:15:38","slug":"au-hasard-balthazar-1966","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13224","title":{"rendered":"Au Hasard, Balthazar (1966)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Ridicule is the one thing we must avoid at all costs.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar-220x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-63241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar-220x300.png 220w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar-751x1024.png 751w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar-94x128.png 94w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar-768x1047.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar-198x270.png 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Au-Hasard-Balthazar.png 815w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA donkey named Balthazar is mistreated at the hands of multiple owners; meanwhile, a meek village girl (Anne Wiazemsky) suffers in her dysfunctional relationship with a local thug (Francois Lafarge).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Downward Spiral<\/li>\n<li>French Films<\/li>\n<li>Robert Bresson Films<\/li>\n<li>Village Life<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nRobert Bresson&#8217;s tragic tale of a donkey abused by his many masters &#8212; and the young woman (Marie) who loves him for a time, only to devolve into her own miserable existence as a low-level moll &#8212; has been labeled his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=1472\">&#8220;greatest achievement&#8230; a deeply felt fable about the pitfalls of human cruelty&#8221;<\/a>, and &#8220;the supreme masterpiece by one of the greatest of 20th-century filmmakers&#8221; (Village Voice). It&#8217;s viewed by some as a Christian allegory, with Balthazar a sort of humble Christ symbol, and Marie (&#8220;Mary&#8221;) his &#8220;mother&#8221;; others prefer to read it on a more literal level, as a tale simply about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/great-movie-au-hasard-balthazar-1966\">&#8220;the dignity of being itself&#8221;<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>While I certainly can&#8217;t refute the deeply reverent relationship many viewers have with this film, I must admit that I found myself surprisingly unmoved by it. Bresson&#8217;s distinctive cinematic style &#8212; strategically designed to emulate a marriage of music and painting, with emotionless, non-acting &#8220;models&#8221; rather than actors inhabiting roles &#8212; is ultimately not for all tastes. While I admire his intentions, his approach doesn&#8217;t work for me on a basic empathetic level. I&#8217;m so distracted watching his &#8220;models&#8221; move self-consciously across the screen that I&#8217;m overly aware of their role as dramatic placeholders, to the detriment of my ability to relate to the film on any personal level. This is all the more of a shame given that Bresson&#8217;s visuals are consistently stunning; frame after frame is lovingly composed, and gorgeously shot by his D.P. (Ghislain Cloquet). <\/p>\n<p>Call me a Bressonian grinch, but I&#8217;m only recommending this one as must-see for its undeniable cinematic stamp of approval by most critics. You&#8217;ll have to judge its ultimate merit for yourself. Instead, I&#8217;ll continue to rally for <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10080\"><em>Diary of a Country Priest<\/em> (1951)<\/a> as the film for which Bresson&#8217;s unique approach is best suited. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Powerful imagery and cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/au-hasard-imagery.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/au-hasard-imagery.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13229\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/au-hasard-imagery3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/au-hasard-imagery3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13231\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/au-hasard-imagery6.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/au-hasard-imagery6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13236\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. While it&#8217;s not a personal favorite, this film is too historically important and critically lauded to miss. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0060138\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/67785\/au-hasard-balthazar#articles-reviews?articleId=917197\">TCM DVD Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1970\/02\/20\/archives\/the-screen-au-hasard-balthazarbresson-feature-opens-at-the-new.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/great-movie-au-hasard-balthazar-1966\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Greatest Films Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/auhasard.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.seattlepi.com\/movies\/165359_balthazar19q.html\">Seattle Post Intelligencer Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1637balt.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=1472\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/au-hasard-balthazar\">Time Out Capsule Review (SPOILER ALERT)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Ridicule is the one thing we must avoid at all costs.&#8221; Synopsis: A donkey named Balthazar is mistreated at the hands of multiple owners; meanwhile, a meek village girl (Anne Wiazemsky) suffers in her dysfunctional relationship with a local thug (Francois Lafarge). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Downward Spiral French Films Robert Bresson Films Village Life Review: Robert Bresson&#8217;s tragic tale of a donkey abused by his many masters &#8212; and the young woman (Marie) who loves him for a&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13224\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13224"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63245,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13224\/revisions\/63245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}