The Melbourne Cinémathèque & ACMI present
Au Hasard Balthazar
When
Wed 8 Mar 2023
Bresson’s blunt and compassionate chronicle of the birth, life and death of a donkey is a Christian parable that never flinches in its gaze on an apparently godless world that is hard on little things. In the final beautiful but deathly moments, this beast of burden achieves transcendence. Recently reworked by Jerzy Skolimowski as EO, this is one of Bresson’s greatest and most austerely moving works. Centring on a fine performance by Anne Wiazemsky, it features wonderfully precise and haunting cinematography by Ghislain Cloquet. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1966 Venice Film Festival.
Also screening on Wed 8 March
Program
Model and Soul: The uncompromising cinema of Robert Bresson
Une Femme Douce (1969) –Wed 1 Mar, 7pm
Mouchette (1967) – Wed 1 Mar, 8.45pm
Les Anges du Peche (1943) – Wed 8 Mar, 7pm
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) – Wed 8 Mar, 8.45pm
Pickpocket (1959) – Wed 15 Mar, 7pm
Diary of a Country Priest (1951) – Wed 15 Mar, 8.30pm
About the program
Although Robert Bresson (1901–1999) made only 13 features over 40 years, there is perhaps no other body of work in cinema history more marked by a director’s personality, sensibility or style.
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About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
