Au hasard Balthazar
Encyclopedia
Au hasard Balthazar, also known as Balthazar, is a 1966 French film directed by Robert Bresson
, starring Anne Wiazemsky
.
Balthazar, through many years. As Marie grows up the pair become separated, but the film traces both their fates as they continue to live a parallel existence, continually taking abuse of all forms from the people they encounter. The donkey has several owners, most of whom exploit it, often with more cruelty than kindness. He bears his suffering with nobility and wisdom, becoming a saint in the process. In the end, both suffer often at the hands of the same people. They do differ, though, in that Marie's fate remains unclear, whereas the donkey's is clear.
The noted filmmaker, and Cahiers du Cinema critic, Jean-Luc Godard
, famously said of the film "Everyone who sees this film will be absolutely astonished," "because this film is really the world in an hour and a half." Godard would go on to marry Wiazemsky in 1967.
where it won the OCIC Award and the Jury Hommage.
Although never officially included on the British Film Institute
's 10 Best Film Poll, it did receive 10 votes from film critics in 2002, reaching the rank of 19.
Robert Bresson
-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
, starring Anne Wiazemsky
Anne Wiazemsky
Princess Anne Wiazemsky is a French actress and novelist, of the Russian Rurikid family of Princes Vyazemsky-Counts Levashov. Through her mother, she is the granddaughter of François Mauriac. She appeared in Robert Bresson's Au hasard Balthazar and in Godard's films La Chinoise and Week End...
.
Plot
The film follows Marie (Wiazemsky), a shy farm girl, and her beloved donkeyDonkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
Balthazar, through many years. As Marie grows up the pair become separated, but the film traces both their fates as they continue to live a parallel existence, continually taking abuse of all forms from the people they encounter. The donkey has several owners, most of whom exploit it, often with more cruelty than kindness. He bears his suffering with nobility and wisdom, becoming a saint in the process. In the end, both suffer often at the hands of the same people. They do differ, though, in that Marie's fate remains unclear, whereas the donkey's is clear.
Cast
- Anne WiazemskyAnne WiazemskyPrincess Anne Wiazemsky is a French actress and novelist, of the Russian Rurikid family of Princes Vyazemsky-Counts Levashov. Through her mother, she is the granddaughter of François Mauriac. She appeared in Robert Bresson's Au hasard Balthazar and in Godard's films La Chinoise and Week End...
as Marie - François Lafarge as Gerard
- Philippe Asselin as Marie's father
- Nathalie Joyaut as Marie's mother
- Walter Green as Jacques
- Jean-Claude Guilbert as Arnold
- Pierre KlossowskiPierre KlossowskiPierre Klossowski was a French writer, translator and artist. He was the eldest son of the artists Erich Klossowski and Baladine Klossowska, and his younger brother was the painter Balthus.-Life:...
as Merchant - François Sullerot as Baker
- Marie-Claire Fremont as Baker's wife
- Jean Rémignard as Notary
Production
According to Wiazemsky's 2007 novel Jeune Fille, she and Bresson developed a close relationship during the shooting of the film, although it was never consummated. On location they each stayed in adjoining rooms and Wiazemsky says "at first, he would content himself by holding my arm, or stroking my cheek. But then came the disagreeable moment when he would try to kiss me ... I would push him away and he wouldn't insist, but he looked so unhappy that I always felt guilty." Later Wiazemsky lost her virginity to a member of the film's crew, which she says gave her the courage to reject Bresson as a lover. Bresson was known to cast non-professional actors and use their inexperience to create a specific type of realism in his films. Wiazemsky states: "It was not his intention to teach me how to be an actress. Almost against the grain, I felt the emotion the role provoked in me, and later, in other films, I learned how to use that emotion."Reception
The film's religious imagery, spiritual allegories and naturalistic, minimalist aesthetic style has been unanimously praised by film reviewers. This "brief, elliptical tale about the life and death of a donkey" has "exquisite renderings of pain and abasement" and "compendiums of cruelty" that tell a powerful spiritual message.The noted filmmaker, and Cahiers du Cinema critic, Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, famously said of the film "Everyone who sees this film will be absolutely astonished," "because this film is really the world in an hour and a half." Godard would go on to marry Wiazemsky in 1967.
Awards
The film premiered at the 1966 Venice Film FestivalVenice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
where it won the OCIC Award and the Jury Hommage.
Although never officially included on the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's 10 Best Film Poll, it did receive 10 votes from film critics in 2002, reaching the rank of 19.