Our Hero, Balthazar

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Our Hero, Balthazar

R

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1h 36m

Comedy

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

48 Reviews

94%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Eager to impress his activist crush, a wealthy New York teenager follows an online connection to Texas, where he's convinced he can stop an act of extreme violence.

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Critics Consensus

Oscillating between brutal humor and unsettling insight, Our Hero, Balthazar is an audacious and often astonishing directorial debut tinged with riveting performances and sprawling thematic ambition.

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

May 7

3.5/4

Taken all together, “Our Hero, Balthazar” is a button pusher that holds up a mirror to America and asks what is performative and what is real. It also dwells on how we can get out of this quicksand trap that young men are trapped in right now.

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

Apr 27

It's surprisingly funny and humanistic, but also a dark satire about the America in which we live.

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Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

Mar 26

A black-comic acid bath that, in only an hour and a half, nods to so many contemporary concerns that it rivals last year’s “Eddington” in its scope... The film may not propose a solution to any of our maladies, but it’s a bitterly convincing diagnosis.

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Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

May 14

3/5

Watching the two young men, you may well find your sympathies shifting – and you may wonder which of them, if either, is actually en route to becoming a killer.

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

May 14

B

Melodramatic, but it addresses serious contemporary realities with candor and conviction... and both Martell and Butterfield are outstanding.

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Rebecca Johnson

Movie Marker

May 12

4/5

Showcasing excellent performances, an intriguing central dynamic and cutting commentary, Our Hero, Balthazar is a riveting piece of filmmaking that perfectly balances its comedic and thrilling tones.

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erjon D

4d

Lovely film, with great depiction of characters. It’s a social commentary of times we face.

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Roy J

4d

Excellent debut! The writing and acting is phenomenal. This subject could've gone wrong and handled poorly, but the movie is so entertaining, unpredictable, and hilarious. I'm looking forward to this director's next venture! Highly recommend!

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Chev

5d

captures my generation and the world perfectly, which is terrifying

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Sean T

May 15

An intense ride that was grippingly modern and relevant for the times we live in.

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Oliver

May 11

raunchy and dark and delightful

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Jessica H

May 6

This is such an intelligent movie. It's a searing look at how young people are affected by the attention economy and alienation of lives lived mostly online, and how breakdowns in our family bonds can spiral out to have ruinous consequences. The physical transformation of Asa Butterfield as Solomon is shocking - I had to check IMDB to make sure that was the same actor I know from his other projects. The acting, writing, directing and editing are all top-notch. Go see this movie.

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Oscar Boyson

Director

Jaeden Martell

Actor

Asa Butterfield

Actor

Chris Bauer

Actor

Jennifer Ehle

Actor

Anna Baryshnikov

Actor

Our Hero, Balthazar: Trailer 1

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Our Hero, Balthazar: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

Eager to impress his activist crush, a wealthy New York teenager follows an online connection to Texas, where he's convinced he can stop an act of extreme violence.

Director: Oscar Boyson
Producer: Oscar Boyson, Ricky Camilleri, Jon Wroblewski, David Duque-Estrada, Miles Skinner, Alex Hughes, Jaeden Martell
Screenwriter: Oscar Boyson, Ricky Camilleri
Distributor: Picturehouse
Production Co: Oh Boy, Spacemaker Productions
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Crude Sexual Content|Graphic Nudity|Drug Use|Some Violence/A Grisly Image)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 27, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 36m