Why Au Hasard Balthazar is one of the greatest films in cinema history

I've been reading the comments and discussion that has been going in these threads, and I don't think some people have quite grasped what Bresson was trying to convey with this film and the important and meaningful things he has to say about life and human nature. Without having correctly grasped the meaning behind the content, I can see why people would think the film is a nothing but a gloomfest of suffering, despair and misery. If you look closer though, you will see that it's anything but a depressing and pessimistic worldview, but actually a trascendent and inspiring meditation about life, fate and will.

In order to fully understand Au Hasard Balthazar one must understand the thematic construction of the film. By being literally a passive, dumb beast who is being passed from owner to owner and being mistreated and shown (little) love throughout his life, Bresson uses Balthazar as a witness and reflection -- or both a window and mirror, if you will -- of human nature in all its facets. There are also the clear parallels Bresson establishes between Balthazar and his owners, especially his first owner, Marie. The purpose of such a thematical tool is for the audience to regard Balthazar as another facet of the human condition, but only in the spiritual sense (Bresson takes extreme care in not anthromorphologize the donkey). So, with Balthazar and these group of characters, the film shows the entire spectrum of humanity: purity (Balthazar), good (Jacques), evil (Gérard), weakness (Arnold), selfishness (Merchant), arrogance (Marie's father) and self-pity (Marie). In one or several of these characters, we can see ourselves since they encapsulate the different ways human beings deal with their existence.

Now this is the most important thing to comprehend about the film: Balthazar is an ignorant, unknowing beast who has no choice but to accept everything that happens to him in his life due to his condition, that of being a donkey, a creature who has no intelligence and who has no free will. He simply lives life the way he knows: he is used as an animal of burden, and he does so. He is mistreated by his owners, he accepts the mistreatment. He is shown love and compassion by Marie, he accepts it. He even shares his state of being with other animals (in times of captivity during his stay in the circus and times of freedom during in his deathbed). If you think about it, within the oportunities (or lack thereof) he has been given, and the circumstances (good and bad) he's gone through, Balthazar has achieved to live life to the fullest (and die with utmost grace). Us human beings have a different condition to Balthazar. Human beings have intelligence, reasoning and have the free will to make choices. Yet with all those gifts and advantages, humans have no peace of mind and keep having and attitude towards life and making choices that more often than not, leads to a life of misery and suffering, and to destroy ourselves and the lives of others.

The simple yet profound question the film basically begs us to ask to ourselves is: "if Balthazar could live life to the fullest, why can't we?". When we realize this reflection on Balthazar's life and reflect it on our own, a sudden feeling of enlightenment, trascendence and spirituality undeniably invades us. Throughout this meaningful revelation, we emerge with a moral clarity (especially concerning the characters in the film) and with a newfound sense of spirituality, hope and a strong will to transform ourselves.

I personally can't think of something more inspiring and life-affirming than that. Au Hasard Balthazar very well might change your life. This is one of the most noble, humane and beautiful works of art, of any medium.