Yet, the very last shot of Balthazar, it should be said, is not as cut and dried as all that. In fact, as the camera leaves the donkey we can still see Balthazar breathing (was the donkey a bad ‘actor’?). But, this is likely something Bresson intended, as a circular close to the film, for just as we did not see its birth, we do not see its death; although that impending state is strongly implied by the film. My point is that every single published review of this film (that I could find) states that it ends with the donkey’s death, when it clearly and visually does not. The fact that we are not shown the likely outcome is also a final example of Bresson’s participatory cinema style, using ellipses and other ambiguity-inducing techniques to hasten a viewer’s desire to imbue their own personal meaning into the film. But the fact that so many critics claim something that is clearly not so shows just how by the book and pedestrian most criticism (film or other) is. And it is just one of many fallacies, critical and not, that abound about this film, a point I shall shortly return to.
As for the DVD, put out by The Criterion Collection, it comes with no English dubbed soundtrack, and only white subtitles — a poor combination, as I’ve oft lamented. The positive of this, though, is that there is not much dialogue in the film that needs translation, and certainly no long speeches. Unfortunately, there is not even an audio film commentary track. This is simply inexcusable in this day and age, especially for such high priced merchandise as Criterion peddles.
However, the disk does have some good features. First, the film transfer, in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, is outstanding, and virtually free of blemishes. There is a French TV show clip, from 1966, called Un Metteur En Ordre: Robert Bresson, which features an array of talking heads on the film (many of the usual suspects of the French New Wave). There is also a 12 minute long piece with film critic Donald Richie (a regular DVD commentarian, so why not get him to do one?), who discuses the film’s impact, plus an original trailer, and an essay by film expert James Quandt on the film. Both Richie (who admits he still weeps at the film’s ending) and Quandt needlessly and cluelessly perpetuate fallacies about the film’s religious content and importance.
The cinematography by Ghislain Cloquet is good, but one suspects that Bresson so plotted out things that anyone could have filmed this and it would have been the same film. In short, this film is purely Bressonian, not Cloquetian. The musical soundtrack, featuring the Schubert piano pieces, however, is the most masterly part of this film, aside from Bresson’s divine screenplay. The claim that the piano is the loneliest instrument has never been as amply demonstrated, save, perhaps, for the use of Erik Satie’s "Gymnopedie No. 3" in Woody Allen’s Another Woman.
Article comments
1 - Jon
Oh dear. This review is awful - and I say that though I think Balthazar is a masterpiece.
Is 12 pages of waffle really necessary for a review of the film? In the time it takes to read that I probably could have watched the film again. About 4 pages of that was merely plot describing! And 6 of them were just attacking other critics! Does Mr. Schneider actively search out critics to disagree with? Numerous critics have mentioned Bresson's technique, his use of ellipsis and to what extent the religious imagery is a mask for other things - and with more acuity and less adolescent ranting than this article.
I wont come back to comment, or read any more reviews by this guy because I've seen how any argument on these pages just descend into childish sniping. Still an awful review though.
And the donkey dies/ is dying at the end. To say not is just being very petty.
2 - Robert H
This paragraph--
"As for the DVD, put out by The Criterion Collection, it comes with no English dubbed soundtrack, and only white subtitles " a poor combination, as I’ve oft lamented. The positive of this, though, is that there is not much dialogue in the film that needs translation, and certainly no long speeches. Unfortunately, there is not even an audio film commentary track. This is simply inexcusable in this day and age, especially for such high priced merchandise as Criterion peddles."
--calls into question the legitimacy of anything you say before or after. The fact that you say (or at least imply) that you'd prefer to see a foreign film dubbed into English, makes me wonder if you actually do love foreign films. I can't know for sure, but this makes me think you might also prefer Balthazar in color.
3 - Dan Schneider
If you'd prefer to have up to 1/3 of your visual art marred by letters, go ahead, but any foreign films that are well-dubbed (many Ingmar Bergmans and some Fellinis) are far superior to the defacement of subtitling.
But, if you prefer it, go ahead.