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Poster for Au Hasard Balthazar

Au Hasard Balthazar

1966 · 1h 36m · Not Rated Drama
Directed by Robert Bresson

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Overview

The story of a donkey Balthazar as he is passed from owner to owner, some kind and some cruel but all with motivations beyond his understanding. Balthazar, whose life parallels that of his first keeper, Marie, is truly a beast of burden, suffering the sins of humankind. But despite his powerlessness, he accepts his fate nobly.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
100%
Tomatometer
Fresh

The film could have sunk beneath this symbolic burden, yet it is lightened by the speed and precision of Bresson's art; he could derive more from one pair of hands than most directors can from two hours of blood and guts.

Anthony Lane, New Yorker
Fresh

Perhaps the greatest and most revolutionary of Bresson's films, Balthazar is a difficult but transcendently rewarding experience, never to be missed.

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Fresh

No film I have ever seen has come so close to convulsing my entire being as has Au Hasard Balthazar.

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Fresh

The film is perhaps the director's most perfectly realised, and certainly his most moving.

Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh

This is neither an easy film, nor, in the show biz sense, an entertaining one. It makes large demands upon its audience, and in return confers exceptional rewards.

Roger Greenspun, New York Times

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