Review of Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) by Ben W — 16 Jun 2009
Its been awhile since ive seen this film and it still holds up rather well. The parallel that Bressons draw's between Marie and Balthazar is very fascinating. The central story follows this donkey through its life, its mistreated, beaten, but it just keeps its course.
The donkey represents life, of sorts, and is really just there to help tell Marie's story. Marie's boyfriend of sorts, Gerard, is a piece of shit and basically sexually molests' her. Marie is completely submissive, much like Balthazar, which she confides in.
I do believe that Godard summed this film up perfectly when he said "Life in 1 hour and 30 minutes" because this film really just uses the donkey to show us life. Bresson does a brilliant job at stripping the characters of "performance".
There is no great emotional performances just real, lifelike moments, aka what Bresson is best at. The scene in the car between Marie and Gerard is incredibly affecting and yet subtle.
This review of Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) was written by Ben W on 16 Jun 2009.
Au Hasard Balthazar has generally received very positive reviews.
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