Au Hasard
by adamsteins
In 1966, French director, Robert Bresson released a spiritually charged film titled Au hasard Balthazar. The story followed a donkey named Balthazar as he objectively watched the townspeople live out their lives. From being a young donkey during a family’s prosperity, to growing old and being beaten by a greedy scrooge, Balthazar had been tossed every which way into these people’s lives. He was disciplined while younger and violently beaten for no apparent reason as he grew up. All the while, this donkey did not even let out a single cry as he was kicked, whipped, hit with logs, his tail lit on fire, and also shot which caused his death. What’s more, Balthazar silently watched as the lives of ones that he loved were destroyed by evil. The donkey’s owner, Marie, was a pure girl growing up, but after being raped by a very rebellious boy in town (Bresson does an amazing job at insinuating this without revealing a hint of explicit content), she loses all purity inside. She loses all hope for life as she aimlessly looks for true love, but she keeps ending up giving herself to the rebellious boy. As I quietly watched I began to realize why this film was so important to me spiritually. I could understand why another French director once stated that “Au hasard Balthazar is everything you need to know about life in an hour and a half.” Balthazar represents Jesus Christ, being “oppressed and afflicted [by an evil world], yet he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). The townspeople portray the evil (lust, greed, pride, etc.) caused by fallen mankind. Finally, Marie represents the innocent life tainted and destroyed by the broken world; the unexplainable and horrific acts that so many of us cannot understand. Some may say that Marie caused her own despair because she gave herself away to the town, but this was because of the shame and brokenness the world had caused her. The only pure and genuine love she had was between her and Balthazar because the donkey was the only example of purity left in her life. This film tells the story of all mankind, but it takes an extensive breakdown to understand this…
This film opened my eyes to the brokenness of this world, but at the same time still allowed me to focus on the power of hope. As ridiculous as it may sound, Balthazar shows us that better way of life. As a maturing foal, a yoke was put around his neck in which he was then disciplined by wearing it. He was beaten while disciplined, yet these owners did not mean to cause him harm. However, later in Balthazar’s life he was whipped and beaten by other owners who did not care for him, thus did not care what harm was caused because Balthazar did not truly belong to them. Yet, Balthazar did not let out a single cry and faithfully took all the lashings. As is our lives, we are owned by the Lord and disciplined by the Lord. “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten” (Hebrews 12:7). On the other hand, we also live in this world, but the world does not treat us as their own for “[we] are not of the world” (John 17:14). We are beaten down by them, yet we are not to grumble and become weary. We are to be like Balthazar and faithfully carry on our duties, no matter how hard we are whipped or kicked; all the while looking for the fullness of our blessings from the Lord and not the world. Yet, so many people complain about work, fuss about being shorthanded, and rebel when someone continues to take them for granted. Did our good Lord Jesus do any of these things even though he was in the same position as the Christians today? Even more-so, Jesus was taken full advantage of because he could heal and perform other miracles. The world ended up nailing him to a tree, not honoring him as he deserved. We, too, mustn’t look for acceptance from this world, for they will only expect more from you. However, the discipline of God fills us up with character, maturity, and integrity. The pain inflicted by His discipline is apart from this worlds, for He is faithful to fill us with love, encouragement, character, and the fullness of His grace when we need it most. Pain is pain, but discipline from the Lord is distinct from the world’s abuse.
If the Lord inflicts pain onto His own through discipline, does this mean that He enjoys causing pain? Certainly not! The evil of this world purposefully uses pain to torment and destroy. In the film, Marie’s life was tormented to the point of death because of the evil set upon her life. There were no regrets and no repentance by the abusers. Contrary, the Lord has purpose behind the pain. All those who are children of God know that trials produce perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-5). Hope is not something that might happen. To the Lord, hope refers to something that is certain to happen, but it is not yet realized in the believer’s life. So when we are rebuked by the Lord, we can rest assured knowing that that pain will be used to build us, shape us, and bring us closer to the Lord’s presence and purpose in our lives. God’s true word does not lie when He speaks through Jeremiah and says, “though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:32-33). There is no willful abuse by our merciful Lord. If pain is to be caused in a believer’s life, then God will be sure to turn that pain in the night into joy when the morning comes.
However, there is pain in this world due to the fall of mankind. Au hasard Balthazar captures this piece of biblical truth incredibly. The evil characters in the film are purely evil. I wanted the rebellious boy to have at least a reflection of mercy somewhere in him, but true to the evil that is in this world, there is no compassion in him. He is evil to the core and so are we as a world of fallen humans. Although we can say that we are good people, we are not even close to being slightly good. Due to the fall of man (Genesis 3) we are inherently evil and full of darkness. The True Light, Jesus Christ, came into this world to save us from ourselves, and because mankind was so full of darkness they were blind to such a pure and brilliant light. Men were so blind that others had to testify to the True Light coming to the world, and yet the world still could not see Him, nor receive Him.
This is broken mankind: “…the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Some enjoy their sinful lives and the pain it causes. Others live in sin and are unwillingly destroyed by it because their sin has blinded them to the True Light, Jesus Christ. However, all of mankind is a victim to “the prince of the power of the air [the world],” (Ephesians 2:2) that is Satan. He has created this evil in which mankind uses to destroy each others’ lives. Marie was a victim of sin in Au hasard Balthazar, but that is because she was blind to the purity of love that was before her. She could feel it’s warmth, but she did not receive it because of the brokenness sin had created in her heart; she had lost hope in such a pure thing.
This world and all its inhabitants are evil. “There is no one righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10), however there is One who has the ability to save us from ourselves. He stands by and oversees all things. He does not beg us to come, but he quietly knocks. Just as Balthazar stood by and watched those he knew destroy their lives around them, just before their death they found solace in the donkey’s purity. If we have glimpsed goodness in this broken world then let us also seek its source: Jesus Christ. Before our own deaths into eternity, let us go to the One who has always been for us amidst brokenness and despair. Close your eyes and say “Good-bye old mate…” and rest your weary head on the one who will forever hold you up.
