Baltic Cinema: Au Hasard Balthazar

Dir. Robert Bresson France / Sweden 1966 96’ (Cert 12)

French with English subtitles | 35mm transferred to digital video Watch the trailer

Animal protagonists are traditionally the preserve of sentimental stories for children, but while Robert Bresson’s tragic masterpiece about the toils of a donkey has the simple force of a fable, it presents a brutally pessimistic vision. Punished, maltreated, used, loved, Balthazar is put to work by one keeper after another, bearing silent witness to the folly and petty cruelties of his human masters.

Bresson was a Catholic filmmaker, and his story has been interpreted as a Christian allegory by some critics. The director’s austerely concentrated shots, restricted to details of scenes in order to elucidate the whole, and his controlled use of sound to imply off-screen activity, make for a uniquely dense, richly textured film. Jean-Luc Godard was to suggest that Balthazar contained ‘the world in an hour and a half’. (BFI)

Au Hasard Balthazar screens here in response to Saelia Aparicio’s celebration of the animal and the non-human, A Joyful Parasite (Level 2 Gallery, until 8 March)

Doors open 18:30; Film starts 18:45. Pop-up cinema bar open from 18.00 for drinks.

Please note we cannot offer refunds on this event.

Baltic Cinema is a new year-round cinema programme at Baltic, lighting up our Level 1 Cinema with the best new and archive films. Bringing otherwise rarely-screened work to the North East, Baltic Cinema also expands our exhibitions, offering a chance to explore further some of the themes they raise.

Baltic Cinema has five strands:

Currents presents new work from across the world

Sources expands on our exhibitions

Selected shows films selected by our artists and partners

Quayside Kino is a monthly screening for families and children

News From Home offers films on and from the North East, for the people who live here

All regular screenings take place in our Level 1 Cinema. In addition, you can catch free drop-in films in Front Room every week. See full programme of screenings here.

Baltic Cinema is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.

We want our events to be inclusive and accessible. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email [email protected]. Ahead of your visit, you can find out about Baltic's facilities and accessibility here.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead, United Kingdom

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