About Robert Bresson’s ‘Balthazar’ (1966), Godard once said: “Anyone who watches this film will be astonished. Because in an hour and a half, this film captures the entire world.”
‘Balthazar’ is essentially a story of sin and atonement. Balthazar is the name of a donkey who repeatedly changes hands—from Marie to a thuggish young man, to an angry drunkard, to a greedy person… Everyone except Marie tortures him without reason. In 1860, the Countess of Ségur wrote a book called ‘Memoirs of a Donkey.’ In it, she wrote about how a donkey, unable to protest, suffers humiliation at every step. Bresson may have found inspiration to make ‘Balthazar’ after reading that book. Through the life story of an innocent donkey, he has revealed the true face of humanity. Balthazar seems to carry the sins of the entire world on his shoulders, silently enduring human cruelty day after day, and finally falling victim to human mercilessness despite committing no crime. The film is essentially a realistic portrayal of human bestiality and animal humanity—these two extremes. While watching the film, one feels seized by rage, becomes melancholy moment by moment, is gripped by a kind of despair, and finally feels helpless and powerless. Interestingly, even if ‘Balthazar’ had been made as a silent film, there would have been no change in its theme. Sound plays virtually no role in this film. While watching, one cannot really predict the plot’s progression or the characters’ behavior. The theme becomes clear only after the story ends, and only if one reflects upon it.
What is a human being worth? Society has certain rules for determining worth, and no matter how valuable a person might be, if society deems them worthless, they must live bearing the burden of that donkey’s life. Compared to society’s hideous bestiality, all animal characteristics seem childish; without regard for any logic, people can be cruel, selfish, and thoughtless to an extent beyond the imagination of any healthy mind. Humans naturally find joy in cruelty. When this is displayed socially or collectively, people observe it as duty or custom, and then it becomes an integral part of a moral festival! Incidentally, Bresson has a particular style of filmmaking. None of those he directs are professional artists. He tells them that they must never become emotionally overwhelmed before the camera. Then he continues shooting repeatedly until the characters completely merge with the story. (Bresson holds the record of shooting one scene fifty times!) As a result, the characters in his films are always emotionally restrained. No one in his films speaks theatrical dialogues; they engage only in the plainest conversation imaginable. While watching ‘Balthazar,’ we become disheartened when we see immorality, misconduct, degradation, sin, and injustice present themselves naturally and easily as elements of the film, and the movie shows no path of redemption from all of this.
In this film, the donkey represents Jesus—throughout life bearing humanity’s burden, enduring causeless torture, dying in great agony, and even that death is an atonement for sins the donkey never committed. We see that the person who showed the donkey a little kindness also had to accept such misfortune that was not his due. Two scenes from the movie have etched themselves in memory. One: When Balthazar is being used in a circus, solving mathematical problems with his hooves, the poor donkey seems like he might finally be able to live well—there’s almost the feeling of a happy Disney movie scene. But as soon as he sees his master, everything goes wrong, and his innocence is rewarded with a return to his old life of suffering. Two: Everyone is dancing to music in a bar, drinking. At that moment, the heroine’s thuggish boyfriend suddenly starts throwing bottles around while drunk, bottles crash against walls with tremendous noise, he hurls glass bottles from tables and shelves to the floor. We see that no one else pays any attention—everyone continues their own revelry. When people are extremely happy, they become temporarily senseless. They have no awareness of who around them is suffering or what calamities are unfolding nearby.
In our society, many people feel suffocated trapped within the web of various customs and restrictions. Though they cannot speak openly, they constantly seek opportunities to escape. If even the slightest chance to flee this social prison ever comes, they seize it immediately. Even if it means getting involved with someone who is bad by nature as a human being, they don’t step back. In this story, Marie’s boyfriend has given her a taste of a life that was unknown and desired to her. As a result, the boyfriend has used Marie according to his whims, yet Marie has been repeatedly drawn to him. He has beaten Marie’s beloved Balthazar, repeatedly engaging in cruel games with the innocent creature. Marie made no protest; rather, knowing everything, she still gave him a place in her heart. He wears a leather jacket and rides around on a motorcycle, associates with similarly delinquent boys—their lifestyle appears colorful to Marie. Perhaps because he wants to keep Marie close, he cannot tolerate her beloved animal, or perhaps such cruelty is natural to him—either could be true. Whatever the case, the simplicity and innocence in Marie’s face in no way matches this willfulness. Toward the end of the movie, we see that boy and his friends rape Marie and flee. Meanwhile, the boy who truly loves Marie is not loved by her in return. Because that boy is decent, responsible, and dignified. Though he is sincere toward Marie, in her eyes he is boring and conventional—there’s nothing to love about him. In falling in love, women tend to give preference to the wrong men. In making a girl fall in love, such a wrong man is incomparable. The number of Maries in society is by no means small.
The pathos that Bresson has spread through Balthazar’s large eyes filled with compassion and helplessness in his black-and-white frames touches our deepest emotions. The film’s final scene is priceless. The wounded Balthazar escapes and mingles with a flock of sheep, sits down in the field, and then there’s a shadow of peace in his eyes and face, hope for relief. Still, he cannot survive in the end. He dies from blood loss. He finds eternal freedom from human cruelty. For some, the meaning of living is to silently endure all injustice with sealed lips. For them, death is indeed liberation! Through a donkey’s life, Bresson has brought forth the face of society and humanity, attempting to penetrate the mysteries of life and fate. Just as the donkey lived according to human whims and wishes until his final day, many in this world also live according to the caprices of some upper-tier humans. Those in whose hands the world operates do not want this situation to change, because they are not among the oppressed. Therefore, the situation doesn’t change either.