Reviews

This is a very important film. It makes you look into yourself and examine your own worth.

The world is not a fair place to live in. It has its own social structures and with each their is a certain perception of worth. Robert Bresson displays these perceptions from the bottom up.

Much like Vittorio DeSica's Umberto D, this film intertwines the relationship between man and beast. But who is the beast? It's society.

With images shot in crisp black and white Robert Bresson reveals the sordidness of the human soul, how cruel, selfish, pathetic, and unjust it can be. Au Hasard Balthazar is not an easy film to watch, but its honesty and approach towards society's injustices make it a must see.

It is worthing watching this film just to look at Rome. Then add a magnificent script, superb acting, harsh reality, and you have one of the greatest films of all time. DeSica did a fine job portraying the misery and poverty of post WWII Italy.

One could argue that it is Bruno, the young boy, who is in fact the driving force behind this film. It is his balanced performance, displaying both the youthful innocence of boy and the matureness that can forced upon youth when on faced with the responsibility of taking part in the family's survival, that really make this film special.

A classic, definitely worth buying from the Criterion Collection.