--- title: "Au Hasard Balthazar: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/au-hasard-balthazar/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/au-hasard-balthazar" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Au Hasard Balthazar (1966): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 9 reviews: 8 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics agree, and warmly. Eight of nine reviews are positive, and the praise clusters around Bresson’s austere direction: plain images and sounds that critics find building toward something they describe as profound, heartbreaking and sublime. The donkey is the other point of agreement. Reviewers single out its unhumanised perspective, and the film’s refusal to sentimentalise it, as the source of whatever the film has to say about people. Several read it as a religious parable, and most treat the sacred and the brutal as deliberately balanced rather than at odds. The spread is narrow and the reservations mild. Empire finds the religious overtones heavy-handed while still calling the film intelligent and morally serious. Eye for Film and Total Film are approving rather than rapturous, praising the unsentimental treatment of cruelty and the stark meditation on existence without going further. One review could not be read in full. Nobody argues the film fails; the disagreement is only about how far to go. ## Radio Times — Adrian Turner Rating 5/5. Turner calls the film a masterpiece and a clear religious parable. He praises its remarkable range, describing it as austere, warm, grim, surreal, shocking and heartbreaking. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-b970sz/au-hasard-balthazar/) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Rating 4/4. 22 June 2005. Henderson sees the film as a rare spiritual work that makes saintliness ordinary rather than elevating its characters above humanity. He praises Bresson’s dispassionate balance of the sacred and profane, especially in the donkey’s final moments among the sheep. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/au-hasard-balthazar/) ## Time Out — Alexandre Prouvèze Rating 5/5. The page identifies this as a five-star review, indicating a strongly positive verdict. The review text is unavailable, so no specific praise or complaint can be reliably identified. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/fr/cinema/au-hasard-balthazar-1966) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 22 February 2018. Chang regards the film as a masterpiece and a profound, heartbreaking achievement. He singles out Bresson’s poetic transformation of a donkey’s brutal life into a deeply human vision. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-critics-choice-20180222-story.html) ## The AV Club — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 November 2016. The critic presents the film as an unconventional masterpiece, praising Bresson’s austere style for making simple images and sounds profoundly powerful. He especially singles out the donkey’s unhumanized perspective as a source of the film’s insight into human nature. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/50-years-later-au-hasard-balthazar-remains-an-unconven-1798189610) ## Total Film — Total Film Rating 4/5. 20 September 1999. The review praises the film as a stark, profound meditation on existence. It singles out the way images and sounds build toward a sublime epiphany. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/au-hasard-balthazar-review/) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2006. Parkinson finds the film deeply intelligent and morally resonant despite its heavy-handed religious overtones. He singles out Bresson’s restrained formal style and unsentimental performances. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/au-hasard-balthazar-review/) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). The page could not be accessed, so the critic's verdict cannot be established. No praise or complaint can be verified from the available text. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-au-hasard-balthazar-1966) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic finds the film powerful in its unsentimental portrayal of cruelty and vulnerability. They especially praise Bresson’s refusal to compromise truth for expedience, while noting the donkey’s genuine personality. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/au-hasard-balthazar-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/au-hasard-balthazar.md