Au Hasard Balthazar

The symbolism of human sins is at once both the strongest and the weakest aspect of the fable about a donkey. It unpredictably tightens the loop around the titular animal hero and his mournfully sad owner and friend, but at the same time submits so unquestioningly to the desired images that it only roughly outlines the characters' motivations and often goes beyond believability. Besides, this is not the first time that the main character of a Robert Bresson tale is either sad or suffering in most of the scenes, and although I am a proponent of the idea that you can make many variations on the same theme and turn out differently each time, in the case of this tormenting subject, I see it exactly the opposite. Paradoxically, the most powerful impressions are left by the insidious Gérard. His portrayal by François Lafarge is undeniably hypnotic and it's a pity that he never came close to his first role for the rest of his career. (2023-11-02)

Yes, for film students, this is definitely a bit of a treat. I'm almost certain that in about twenty, well, perhaps more like thirty years, I'll appreciate and recognize the depth of this film, but for now, it's just a good and tolerable film from an era and region that doesn't mean much to me. I don't see the brilliance of Bergman in it, so I was rather bored and didn't marvel at it. (2015-06-08)