Au Hasard Balthazar Review

It's one thing to create something masterful and compelling from material that feels designed to entertain an audience, and I don't begrudge any filmmaker from doing it. I love the feeling when I read a premise and I can literally feel the excitement building inside me with each word, and by the time I am done reading even just a brief synopsis I am ready to hand over my money for a ticket instantly even if the release date is still years away. 

It's just as fascinating to go backwards in time though, to explore cinema released decades before I was even born. These pictures were often times landmarks of the medium before I even took my first steps, and though I may be seeing the work through fresh eyes it still feels different, like I am under pressure and scrutiny to comprehend why the movies are so highly regarded and agree with the consensus. Instead of a feeling of wonder when considering what the future may hold, it's like I am invited into the past and the best I can ever hope for is to find the same magic so many others saw back then and continue to see today.

On paper, I didn't exactly find Au Hasard Balthazar interesting. The film follows the existence of a donkey, from the moment it enters the world until the final heartbreaking breaths of life it takes before death. If I were to recommend this movie to others based solely on that sentence, pretty much everyone would roll their eyes at me and disregard it and yet this is arguably the crowning achievement from the master filmmaker Robert Bresson and considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time. 

After witnessing it myself, I wouldn't rank it as my favorite Bresson, nor would I consider it among the absolute best that cinema has to offer, but I also wouldn't argue against it either. Au Hasard Balthazar is a powerful film bursting with so much depth and nuance that I know for a fact I didn't even come close to understanding everything I saw. What I am certain of is that Bresson is drawing a clear parallel here between Balthazar, the donkey, and his first owner, a girl named Marie. Both are subjected to cruelty, passed along from person to person who harm them physically and emotionally despite being peaceful and gentle themselves. One sequence specifically goes directly from Balthazar's new owner literally taking food away from him in the midst of his meal to the very same man attempting to stop Marie from eating despite the fact that she is clearly quite hungry. 

Au Hasard Balthazar doesn't quite reach the glorious heights of the first Bresson I ever saw, the absolutely sublime example of minimalism executed to perfection known as A Man Escaped, but it comes close. Very, very close. 

4.5/5

Decades of Cinema - 10 Best of the 1950's

You can find my lists for the 1920's here, 1930's here, and 1940's here. It's time to cover the 1950's, a pretty incredible ten years of filmmaking.

10. Wild Strawberries

The brilliance of Ingmar Bergman can not be overstated. The man was a genius, and one of my favorite works of his is Wild Strawberries, a film that beautifully walks the line of real and surreal with grace and ease. This is without a doubt a far more accessible movie compared to some of his others, as we go on a journey with Isak Borg both in the literal and deeply personal sense as he drives a great distance and also reflects on his life and finds inner peace with himself along the way.

9. Ugetsu

Ugetsu is a tremendously beautiful, haunting ghost story that is celebrated for being one of the defining pieces from the Japanese Golden Age of Film. It is a mystical, magical fable that utilizes gorgeous cinematography to set an atmosphere that is impossible not to admire.

8. A Man Escaped

A man condemned to death in a Nazi prison camp in a then German-occupied France. Much of the film is spent inside the claustrophobic confines of a prison cell, and you can feel the walls closing in around him. The only way out is via escape and a plan is methodically put into place, and the tension is built brilliantly using sound and space. This Robert Bresson film is not only a masterclass in filmmaking on its own regard, but it has since been the inspiration for other major pictures including the Oscar winning Alfonso Cuaron picture Gravity. A Man Escaped is a must see.

7. Rashomon

A film that literally invented terminology referring to scenarios in which multiple eye witness accounts of a single event offer conflicting information. The Rashomon effect. This is a movie worthy of being described as spellbinding, as I cannot look away as I watch it. Rashomon is essentially perfect cinema on every possible level, yet it only ranks as my #7 of its decade. That's how great the 50's were.

6. 12 Angry Men

A sublime example of minimalism done right, 12 Angry Men almost entirely takes place in one room and yet the setting is probably more vital to the storytelling than any single character. A jury deliberates the fate of a man who has been charged with a murder, and the tension in the room is reflected by the climate outside. One of the finest examples of a film being carried by performances that I can think of.

5. The Night of the Hunter

In the review I wrote for Only God Forgives, I explain what is wrong with blindly following a site like Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic without giving a movie a chance and making up your own mind. One of the biggest historical examples of thing is The Night of the Hunter, the only film ever directed by Charles Laughton. Why only one? Because it was panned critically out of the gate and was a commercial failure. Now you can't find an expansive list of the greatest films of all time without seeing The Night of the Hunter on it.

4. Paths of Glory

There have been a fair amount of hard hitting war films released since the dawn of the medium, but Paths of Glory is surely one of the greatest. One of a few examples of the genius Stanley Kubrick using his platform to artistically express his anti-war sentiments, the story here involves a group of soldiers who refuse to participate in an attack that is essentially suicide. Three of these men are chosen randomly to face a court-martial for cowardice. 

The first time I saw Paths of Glory, I was literally speechless when it ended. I then proceeded to immediately press play on the remote and watch the entire thing over again without even so much as standing up.

3. Rear Window

For the second straight list of my favorite films from a decade, Alfred Hitchcock will occupy two of the top three spots. Safe to say I am a fan, eh? The difference between the two sets of films is the 1940's variety, with Shadow of a Doubt and Rope, were two movies I had not even seen until relatively recently and I fell in love with as an adult. Here with Rear Window, the love is both due to the exquisite filmmaking and also the nostalgic feeling I get from seeing this so many times throughout my life. I cherished Rear Window nearly 20 years ago and I admire it even more today.

2. Singin' in the Rain

If I am ever even in a slightly dour mood, a little headache, a bad day at work, hell simply stubbing my toe would suffice, I can turn to Singin' in the Rain and everything will be just fine soon after I press play. I used to claim I hated musicals. I used to be an idiot. This is one of the great joys of cinema, a film that absolutely glows thanks to memorable musical numbers, amazing set pieces and tons of laughs. 

1. Vertigo

The best film of the 1950's is also one of my favorite of all time from any era. Vertigo sort of represents what cinematic perfection feels like for me because it was the first film I ever saw that made me understand what the word masterpiece meant. Not to mention the fact that when I lost my Vertigo virginity, I was a 14 year old boy so beautiful women were certainly in my wheelhouse. Probably explains why I was smiling like an idiot whenever Kim Novak was on the screen.

Next will be the 1960's, which will feature some of the finest films ever made.  

The Trial of Joan of Arc Review

Normally I enter the experience of viewing a Robert Bresson film brimming with optimism, but the odds were stacked against The Trial of Joan of Arc before I even pressed play. By all accounts I was sitting down for a special, beautifully crafted film, which should come as no surprise considering the previous work I had seen by Bresson, yet I still had an impossible, comparable standard to reflect on throughout the movie. Fair or not, when the subject matter of one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history is revisited at a later date, it is going to get scrutinized under a much more powerful microscope. 

The Passion of Joan of Arc by Carl Theodor Dreyer tells the story of the trial and execution of Jeanne d'Arc without using a single word, and its haunting power is almost literally overwhelming. When it comes to my top five films of all time, it is typically difficult to find a work worthy of pushing their way into consideration yet the film by Dreyer had me questioning whether it was possible the single greatest movie ever made before it had even ended. So yeah, you can understand why a different approach at telling the story filmed decades later would be challenging to critique based on its own merits rather than constantly harping on its shortcomings in comparison.

Released in 1962, The Trial of Joan of Arc is undoubtedly an excellent film and had it been my first journey through this story I would likely be raving about it, but it simply does not have the power of the Dreyer effort. I could go through everything Bresson does right here and it would take forever to tackle all of the different aspects, yet a much more simple way to put it is this: in 1928 this story was told and it devastated me, with the last act viewed through wet, reddened eyes. Here, everything I appreciate about the craftsmanship of cinema was tickled and delighted, yet I felt no raw, stomach churning power, my soul not shaken in the slightest.

This review sounds unfortunately negative, which sucks because The Trial of Joan of Arc doesn't deserve it. It truly is a remarkable film. At the end of the day though, if I want to revisit this story again in the future (and I certainly will), I won't feel inclined to turn to the Bresson effort ever again.

4/5

100 Favorite Films - #70 - #61

A continuation of my list counting down my 100 favorite films of all time.


70. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

I thought this was the coolest movie ever when I saw it as a kid. I think it is pretty damn cool as an adult, too.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day is one of those sequels that actually managed to rise above the original, and to be clear, I am a fan of the first one as well. The special effects were ground breaking and the action is intense and overwhelmingly fun, and the connection between a boy and a terminator actually managed to be pretty moving stuff. I revisited this film not too long ago and I had the biggest smile on my face, probably similar to the one I had back then.


69. A Man Escaped (1956)

My Review for A Man Escaped

On my previous list I included the film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky and I mentioned that he was quoted as saying the only two opinions he cared about with his film were Robert Bresson and Ingmar Bergman. A Man Escaped is a Bresson work that I treasure, a brilliant drama about a man named Fontaine, a member of the French Resistance who is incarcerated and vows to figure out a way to escape before his death sentence is carried out. Most of what happens throughout the film takes place inside his cell, making us feel just as claustrophobic and trapped as Fontaine, and the results are beyond riveting.



68. The Insider (1999)

Based on the true story of the controversy and chaos that surrounded an interview with Jeffrey Wigand on the show 60 Minutes, this is an expertly crafted film by Michael Mann. Wigand was an employee in the tobacco industry and he went against his confidentially agreement to do the interview, and the film highlights just how far a major corporation will go to keep their public perception from being tainted. Sure, the film is likely over-dramatized for entertainment purposes but that usually comes with the the territory for entertainment derived from true events. The Insider is a gem.


67. Moon (2009)

Duncan Jones may not be a household name like his father David Bowie, but his assured, compelling debut film Moon certainly put him on the map. A minimalist work of science fiction, a man named Sam Bell (played brilliantly by Sam Rockwell) is in the midst of a three year contract working on the moon, extracting a gas that has the potential to reverse the energy crisis taking place back on Earth. Back home a beautiful wife and daughter await him and Sam is eager to escape the isolation he feels from a lack of human interaction, but after an accident occurs secrets are revealed about the motivation of the company that hired him and his now questionable future.

An emotionally stirring, thematically rich film, if you haven't seen Moon yet check it out.


66. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

My Review of The Spirit of the Beehive

Perplexing, symbolic, and imaginative, The Spirit of the Beehive was the debut film by Victor Erice and is the influence behind Guillermo del Toro making the modern masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth. The film has a natural, gorgeous glow to it, as if you spend the entire feature stuck inside a beehive, and the concept of a child becoming lost in a film in order to escape her reality is one that really resonates with me.


65. Jurassic Park (1993)

One of the finest blockbuster films ever made, Jurassic Park is a cinematic spectacle that evokes terror and delight from the audience, and I still remember being totally in awe of every single moment when I saw it on the big screen as a child. Despite being released over twenty years ago now, nothing about this work feels dated and the special effects still completely hold up against more recently released summer fare. The magic of the park is still alive with every single viewing.


64. The Dark Knight (2008)

The single greatest superhero film ever made, Christopher Nolan's middle installment of his Batman trilogy transcends the sub-genre because in actuality it is a brilliant crime thriller that just so happens to feature iconic comic book characters. Heath Ledger is the definition of perfection in his turn as the Joker, a role that posthumously won him an Academy Award, and every gritty moment of The Dark Knight is top notch entertainment.


63. Modern Times (1936)

My Review of Modern Times

Charlie Chaplin brought quite a few fantastic silent features to the cinema, but for me none have more heart and imagination and entertainment value than Modern Times, a film filled with tons of laughs but also an emotional pulse that beats through the story and the central romance. Taking place during the Great Depression, the film is remarkably relevant even today as our recent economic recession makes the concept of love transcending financial wealth all the more poignant.



62. Fight Club (1999)

A film that is already firmly established as a contemporary classic, Fight Club is a remarkably entertaining social satire that is so expertly put together by David Fincher it almost defies logic. Honestly, I still recall the first time I saw a trailer for the film and I assumed I was going to absolutely loathe it. A club of dudes fighting each other in basements? Nothing could sound more boring, which is why my mind was blown when I actually got a chance to witness this unlikely masterpiece.



61. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

I know for many this is a film that is made up of a masterful first act and then a disappointing second, but I actually appreciate the entire experience that is Full Metal Jacket. Sure, the first half telling the story of Leonard Lawrence, nicknamed "Gomer Pyle" after quickly standing out to Gunnery Sergeant Hartman for all the wrong reasons, is far more memorable than the rest of the film. In fact it is probably one of the most memorable and beloved halves of a film in cinematic history, but I still admire the brutal anti-war sentiments of Stanley Kubrick that seep out of the narrative of the second half of the film.

The next list will continue on with #60 through #51. Above is an image from a film that will appear on that list.