Overview
Animal protagonists are traditionally the preserve of sentimental stories for children, but while Bresson’s tragic masterpiece about the travails 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.
Ranked joint 24th in the 2022 Sight and Sound Great Films of All Time poll.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Together-06.jpg?itok=XOQWaddy)
Together Together
Comedy 2000 106 mins Director: Lukas Moodysson
Taken into a commune by her brother, a family of three find themselves co-habiting with an assortment of dropouts, hippies and free thinkers, in Lukas Moodysson's warm, bittersweet comedy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Together_99-01.jpg?itok=gm6Mcvtn)
Together 99 Together 99
Comedy 2023 114 mins Director: Lukas Moodysson
Members of the beloved 70s commune reunite in the shadow of the new millennium, in Lukas Moodysson’s eagerly anticipated, warm-hearted sequel to Together.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/PASSENGERTHE1975_Stills_38_USE_THESE_SONY_APPROVED_0.jpg?itok=qXPNGPXI)
The Passenger The Passenger
Drama 1974 126 mins Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Jack Nicholson is at his best in Michelangelo Antonioni’s tale of a burnt-out political correspondent swapping identities with a dead man.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Arrebato-01_0.jpg?itok=9K_YmgSs)
Arrebato Arrebato
Drama 1979 115 mins Director: Iván Zulueta
An obsessive filmmaker descends into madness, in this Spanish cult masterpiece from one of Pedro Almodóvar's early associates, Iván Zulueta.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/after-love-2020-01.jpg?itok=ngHJA4cs)
After Love After Love
Drama 2021 90 mins Director: Aleem Khan
In this knockout feature debut from Aleem Khan, Bafta-winner Joanna Scanlan is the woman who discovers her late husband’s secrets.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Sex-lies-and-videotape_05.jpg?itok=7oRHapOi)
sex, lies, and videotape sex, lies, and videotape
Drama 1989 100 mins Director: Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderberg’s audacious debut, starring James Spader and Andie Macdowell, is an intimate exploration of sexual desire, and a landmark of 90’s American independent filmmaking.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/ManEscaped_2-1920.jpg?itok=_M-wXnxS)
A Man Escaped A Man Escaped
Drama 1956 101 mins Director: Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson’s riveting tale of a Gestapo prisoner determined to regain his freedom, based on real events.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/1_7.jpg?itok=WU1ah6Ki)
Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne
Drama 1945 87 mins Director: Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson’s tale of sexual intrigue, rivalry and revenge among Parisian socialites, with glittering dialogue by Cocteau.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/joan1.jpg?itok=rDnoIZdq)
The Trial of Joan of Arc The Trial of Joan of Arc
Historical drama 1962 64 mins Director: Robert Bresson
The legendary story of Joan of Arc is powerfully retold in Robert Bresson’s minimalist masterpiece.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/PICKPOCKETSTILL2.jpg?itok=aw9maWgJ)
Pickpocket Pickpocket
Drama 1959 76 mins Director: Robert Bresson
Bresson’s hugely influential study of a petty thief in late 50s Paris is one of his most widely acclaimed films.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/largent.jpg?itok=LyNuqXWf)
L'Argent L'Argent
Crime 1983 84 mins Director: Robert Bresson
Bresson’s superb final film and Cannes winner is a Tolstoy adaptation relating how a prank with a forged bank note leads to tragedy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/PICKPOCKETSTILL2.jpg?itok=aw9maWgJ)
Pickpocket Pickpocket
Drama 1959 76 mins Director: Robert Bresson
Bresson’s hugely influential study of a petty thief in late 50s Paris is one of his most widely acclaimed films.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/largent.jpg?itok=LyNuqXWf)
L'Argent L'Argent
Crime 1983 84 mins Director: Robert Bresson
Bresson’s superb final film and Cannes winner is a Tolstoy adaptation relating how a prank with a forged bank note leads to tragedy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Together-06.jpg?itok=XOQWaddy)
Together Together
Comedy 2000 106 mins Director: Lukas Moodysson
Taken into a commune by her brother, a family of three find themselves co-habiting with an assortment of dropouts, hippies and free thinkers, in Lukas Moodysson's warm, bittersweet comedy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Together_99-01.jpg?itok=gm6Mcvtn)
Together 99 Together 99
Comedy 2023 114 mins Director: Lukas Moodysson
Members of the beloved 70s commune reunite in the shadow of the new millennium, in Lukas Moodysson’s eagerly anticipated, warm-hearted sequel to Together.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/PASSENGERTHE1975_Stills_38_USE_THESE_SONY_APPROVED_0.jpg?itok=qXPNGPXI)
The Passenger The Passenger
Drama 1974 126 mins Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Jack Nicholson is at his best in Michelangelo Antonioni’s tale of a burnt-out political correspondent swapping identities with a dead man.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/assistant2.jpg?itok=RUtZtr-e)
The Assistant The Assistant
Thriller 2019 87 mins Director: Kitty Green
Kitty Green's #MeToo drama is a sobering take on life as a film company assistant.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Arrebato-01_0.jpg?itok=9K_YmgSs)
Arrebato Arrebato
Drama 1979 115 mins Director: Iván Zulueta
An obsessive filmmaker descends into madness, in this Spanish cult masterpiece from one of Pedro Almodóvar's early associates, Iván Zulueta.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/after-love-2020-01.jpg?itok=ngHJA4cs)
After Love After Love
Drama 2021 90 mins Director: Aleem Khan
In this knockout feature debut from Aleem Khan, Bafta-winner Joanna Scanlan is the woman who discovers her late husband’s secrets.