Au Hasard Balthazar
dir. Robert Bresson · 1966
Plot
This is the story of a donkey and the somewhat difficult life it leads. During a summer holiday, the baby donkey is a child's pet but when they return home, it begins it's life of misery. It works as a farm animal, pulling a delivery cart and working as any manner as various owners require of it. Meanwhile, the young girl who first acquired Balthazar as a pet grows up, only to be badly treated herself by an indifferent and selfish boyfriend.
Why watch
A young girl named Marie forms a tender bond with a baby donkey named Balthazar during a summer holiday, but as life unfolds, Balthazar is passed from one indifferent owner to another, each encounter steeped in hardship. Watching this film is like traversing a landscape of quiet despair, where the weight of existence is felt in every frame, and the viewer is left to ponder the profound connections between suffering, humanity, and the natural world.
Talking points
- the ethics of animal treatment
- the nature of suffering
- human relationships and their complexities
- the role of fate in life