Search - Au Hasard, Balthazar [Criterion Collection] on DVD

Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1966 DVD Release: 06/14/2005 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Restored/Remastered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins Studio: Criterion Members Wishing: 19 Genres: Drama, Rural Drama

Robert Bresson's acclaimed Au Hasard, Balthazar presents an unfettered view of human cruelty, suffering and injustice, filtered through the eyes of a donkey over the course of his long life. The burro at the film's center begins life peacefully and happily, as the unnamed play-object of some innocent children in bucolic France, but his circumstances change dramatically when he becomes the property of a young woman named Marie - who christens him Balthazar. As she grows up and encounters tragedy and heartbreak, so does Balthazar; he passes from owner to owner, who treat him in a variety of ways, from compassionately to cruelly. The donkey, of course, lacks the capacity to comprehend the motivations of each individual but accepts whatever treatment (and role) is handed him, nobly and admirably. Bresson ultimately uses the story as a heart-rending allegorical commentary on human spiritual transcendence. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Anne Wiazemsky - Marie
Walter Green - Jacques