Balthazar (re-release)
Balthazar (re-release) Image
Metascore
100 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 73 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Robert Bresson's 1966 film focuses on the story of the donkey Balthazar and the people around him.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    100
    This great film, made with uncompromising honesty and devastating reality, is, according to Jean-Luc Godard, "the world in an hour and a half."
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    100
    To see Au Hasard Balthazar is to understand the limits of religious literalism in movies -- the limits, even, of movies themselves. Bresson pares everything away until all that's left are the things we do and the hole left by the things we could have done but didn't.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    100
    1966 French masterpiece -- the finest, most deeply personal work of a filmmaker who has been compared, justifiably, to both Dostoyevsky and Bach.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Bresson suggests that we are all Balthazars. Despite our dreams, hopes and best plans, the world will eventually do with us whatever it does.

See all 8 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
  1. joomjim4
    10
    There is no hope in this movie, the only thing Bresson offered to us is the truth of life by providing the devastating reality in the most honest way. There was not a single existence of any form of "babblings" in this film but only the "picture" to express one significant message of how uncontrollable life could possibly be--in the end nothing can stop that process and -the world will treat us whatever it treats, undeniably. It's a revolutionary film that is highly capable of allowing the viewers to experience another whole different aspect or sense of "life" that they might never experience before. The Finest French Phenomenon Film.… Expand
  2. IraM
    10
    I just purchased this movie. I have seen it twice now. Religous allegory and painful realism in one movie. Not quite as surreal as Bunuel or Fellini, more subtle. What stikes me as strange are the events that never take place on screen. On the first viewing, I thought that maybe I wasn't paying attention close enough. I guess that is a part of the mystery, though. I loved the party scene with the fireworks. This is a subtle, sad masterpiece.… Expand
  3. MrLikeable
    5
    It has some compelling scenes. It also has some pretty sloppy film-making; though on the flip-side, it's enjoyable to watch what can be accomplished on a low budget. I'm not sure I'm convinced that reflections on the pain that life can serve are more valuable than celebrations of the joy that can be found. It's interesting, but to my mind, not great.… Expand
  4. JohnQ.
    2
    Why would you want to feel the agony of existence?

See all 16 User Reviews

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