rhera:“One of the most stunning scenes in Au hasard Balthazar is also one of its seemingly sim

rhera:

“One of the most stunning scenes in Au hasard Balthazar is also one of its seemingly simplest: the runaway Balthazar is brought into a circus and introduced to the other animals in a sequence of cross-cuts that go back and forth between his gazing eyes and those of the other former denizens of the wilds. The scene condenses much of the complexity of interpretation in the film overall: we can, if we wish, read emotions, meanings, and even acts of empathy and communication in this ping-pong of looks from one animal to another. Or we can just watch (like Balthazar himself), witnessing a world that seems curious, if not outright cruel at times, but that passes inexorably without our ability to alter its course.” - sensesofcinema

Au hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966)