Au hasard Balthazar (1966)

Balthazar kind of betrayed my expectations. I bought it blindly after hearing so many people I respect rave about the film, even its placing on the Sight & Sound poll. I was expecting it to be an amazing, incredible film. While it's still a great, very profound, very moving film, I was kind of disappointed. Yet, my disappointment stemmed from the fact that it wasn't what I'd expected, not that it wasn't as good as I'd expected.

Other directors might have sentimentalized the film a lot more than Bresson does. For instance, today we'd identify with the animal because we see how badly he gets tortured in great detail, with heart-tugging music. But, Bresson's work contains great subtlety and we identify with Balthazar more as a fellow being than as a helpless animal. He's more like an observer, seeing the faults in human beings, seeing the way they treat one another, the sins they commit and the pain they inflict on others. We see this the same way as Balthazar does, so we feel a kinship with him.

Bresson's images speak volumes in the film, but with far more grace and subtlety than conventional cinema would. For instance, when Marie's Father dies, we see, along with her Mother, a hand isolated in the dark room, raised up. Then, we see it drop back into the darkness, dejectedly, and we know that the man is dead. This is far more original, interesting, and touching than if the Priest had come outside and told her he was dead.

It's obvious that Balthazar's life parallels Marie's. Their youths are playful, easygoing and romantic. Yet, once they mature, they're both swept up in the plights of others, and begin to suffer at the hands of their fellow beings. They're both beasts of burden, taking on the burdens, problems and sins of the people around them. Yet, they do so with indomitable spirit, because that's all they know. They're both powerless, in many ways. As Marie watches from the doorway as the neighborhood kids torment Balthazar outside, she knows that there is nothing she can do. Likewise, as Balthazar sees suffering around him, and is subject to the cruelty of those around him, he can do nothing but accept it with dignity.

In fact, Balthazar is given a lot of dignity in the film. Right at the start, he's baptized, like a child would be. Throughout the film, he's completely innocent, free from sin. Yes, as an animal, there's probably very little he could do anyway, but I still think that he serves his purpose in the film. And at the end, in the shepherd's field, Bresson holds a beautiful shot on the elderly Balthazar as he passes away in the field, surrounded by nature, as he dies a quiet, dignified, noble death.