Au hasard Balthazar (1966)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Robert Bresson

Writer:

Robert Bresson (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 1966 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

The story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.

Plot Keywords:

Donkey | Burden | Beast Of Burden | Children | Purity

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Anne Wiazemsky	...	Marie
Walter Green	...	Jacques
François Lafarge	...	Gérard
Jean-Claude Guilbert	...	Arnold
Philippe Asselin	...	Marie's father
Pierre Klossowski	...	Merchant
Nathalie Joyaut	...	Marie's mother
Marie-Claire Fremont	...	Baker's wife
Jean-Joël Barbier	...	The Priest
Guy Renault
Jean Rémignard	...	Notary
Guy Brejac
Mylène Weyergans
Jacques Sorbets	...	Police Officer
François Sullerot	...	Baker
Henri Fraisse
Gilles Sandier
Dominique Moune
Tord Paag	...	Louis
René Bazart
Pascale Savornin
Isabelle Petit
Roger Fjellstrom
Isabelle de Winter
Sven Frostenson
José Ruiz Pernias

Directed by
Robert Bresson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert Bresson		writer

Produced by
Mag Bodard	....	producer

Original Music by
Jean Wiener

Cinematography by
Ghislain Cloquet

Film Editing by
Raymond Lamy

Production Design by
Pierre Charbonnier

Production Management
Michel Choquet	....	assistant production manager
Philippe Dussart	....	production manager
René Pascal	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sven Frostenson	....	assistant director
Jacques Kébadian	....	assistant director
Claude Miller	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jean Catala	....	props
Dominique Ribeyrolles	....	set dresser
Ferracci	....	poster designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Antoine Archimbaud	....	sound
Jean-Joël Barbier	....	sound recordist: piano
Jacques Carrère	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean Chiabaut	....	camera operator
Emmanuel Machuel	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Geneviève Billo	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jean Drejac	....	music editor

Other crew
Geneviève Cortier	....	script girl
Maurice Jumeau	....	location manager
Guy Renault	....	animal trainer

Production Companies

• Argos Films
• Athos Films
• Parc Film
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI)

Distributors

• Neue Filmkunst Walter Kirchner (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Cinema Ventures (1970) (USA) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Rialto Pictures (2003) (USA)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Balthazar (USA)
Min vän Balthazar (Sweden)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

France | Sweden

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Guyancourt, Yvelines, France

Company:

Argos Films

Trivia:

The main actress of this movie, Anne Wiazemsky, also became an author; in her book "Jeune Fille", she describes the making of the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata No.20

a donkey's life

Perhaps one of the only films with a live animal in the lead role, this Bresson film is profound art. Excellent acting, masterful direction, decent (new) translation ... French is a little more descriptive and poetic, as usual. The camera follows the winding life span of a donkey in rural France. Used for noble and ignoble, legal and illegal purposes at times, the donkey changes hands repeatedly, at times abused and other times shown loving care and attention. Akin to the style and tone of pre-War French Poetic Relism, despair grows as the setting opens with hopeful simplicity and deteriorates as dreams fade, hearts harden and people die. In the end, the donkey who has witnessed much becomes not only a pawn but a victim. Le pauvre. Funny I didn't see a notice at the end of the film: "No animals were harmed in the making of this film." Anyway, well worth watching more than once.