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Au Hasard Balthazar
(1966)
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Title: Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Anne Wiazemsky | ... |
Marie
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Walter Green | ... |
Jacques
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François Lafarge | ... |
Gérard
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Jean-Claude Guilbert | ... |
Arnold
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Philippe Asselin | ... |
Marie's father
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| Pierre Klossowski | ... |
Merchant
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Nathalie Joyaut | ... |
Marie's mother
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Marie-Claire Fremont | ... |
Baker's wife
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Jean-Joël Barbier | ... |
The Priest
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Guy Renault |
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Jean Rémignard | ... |
Notary
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Guy Brejac |
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Mylène Weyergans |
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Jacques Sorbets | ... |
Police Officer
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François Sullerot | ... |
Baker
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
The sad life and death of Balthazar, a donkey, from an idyllic childhood surrounded by loving children, through adulthood as a downtrodden beast of burden. His life is paralleled with that of the girl who named him, and as she is humiliated by her sadistic lover, so he is beaten by his owner. But he finds a kind of peace when he is employed by an old miller who thinks he is a reincarnated saint... Written by &view=simple&sort=alpha">Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>
Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Release Date:
25 May 1966 (France) See more »Also Known As:
Au Hasard Balthazar See more »Filming Locations:
Guyancourt, Yvelines, FranceBox Office
Opening Weekend:
$8,325 (USA) (17 October 2003)Gross:
$39,388 (USA) (12 December 2003)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Merchant: I believe in what I own. I love money. I hate death.
Marie: You'll die like everyone else.
Merchant: I will bury them all.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The soundtrack for the DVD release was copied at 24-bit from the original 35mm optical soundtrack print. See more »Goofs
The "for Sale" sign that is on the fence when Balthazar runs through the gate is different to the one seen in close-up. Also, when he runs through the gate, the sign is in shadow but in close-up it is in full sun. See more »Quotes
Marie: Don't you believe in anything?Merchant: I believe in what I own. I love money. I hate death.
Marie: You'll die like everyone else.
Merchant: I will bury them all.
See more »
Au Hasard Balthazar will generally elicit reviews from two types of people: those who consider it an incomprehensible piece of art-house crap, and those who marvel at the genius of Bresson.
I, however, fall somewhere in the middle. I'm aware that Bresson's movie is filled with symbolism and layered with subtext, but his approach turns me off. Bresson's mantra is this: no acting under any circumstances. Step 1 is to hire non-actors. Step 2 is to direct them not to emote. Step 3 is to keep reshooting the scene until the actors give up emoting. It was common for him to do 30 takes of even the simplest scenes. He doesn't do this to be cruel, but because he sincerely believes the truth of the material cannot be revealed until the people saying the lines stop thinking about the fact that they are saying lines. A kind of brute force method of ensuring that no one on his set is attempting to craft a performance. He definitely gets what he's after, but whether or not it's worth seeing is questionable.
As a movie viewer raised in the spoon-fed post-Spielberg Hollywood era, I find it tough to get through Bresson. I disliked Balthazar, but not because I think it's crap. Bresson made his film inaccessible so it would be hard to understand, but because it's so pretentious I didn't WANT to understand it.