Bresson’s seminal film, lensed by master cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet, follows the fate of the donkey Balthazar, who is shown compassion only by his first owner; the latter, beautifully played by a teenaged Wiazemsky in her film debut, likewise grows up to experience the world’s paucity of human kindness. Revered by filmmakers including Louis Malle, Michael Haneke—and Jean-Luc Godard, who after seeing it cast Wiazemsky in La Chinoise.

In French with English subtitles