Le voyage du ballon rouge (2007)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Hsiao-hsien Hou

Writers:

Hsiao-hsien Hou (writer)
François Margolin (writer)

Release Date:

30 January 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

A little boy and his baby-sitter inhabit the same imaginary world: through their adventures they are followed by a strange red balloon.

Plot Keywords:

Balloon | Puppet | Children | Paris | Painting

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Suzanne
Simon Iteanu	...	Simon
Fang Song	...	Song
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Marc
Louise Margolin	...	Louise
Anna Sigalevitch	...	Anna
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles-Edouard Renault	...	Lorenzo

Also Known As:

À la recherche du ballon rouge (France) (working title)
Ballon rouge (France) (working title)
Flight of the Red Balloon (International: English title)
Orsay (France) (working title)
The Red Balloon (International: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG | South Korea:12 | Ireland:PG | Australia:PG | Netherlands:AL | Taiwan:GP (original rating) | USA:Not Rated | Singapore:PG

Company:

Margo Films

Trivia:

The director's first film to be shot outside of Asia.

Movie Connections:

References Children of Men (2006)

A Quiet,Loving Meditation On Life (and sometimes art)

Note:anyone who fancies the cinematic overkill bombast of Jerry Bruckheimer,Michael Bay,Roland Emerich,etc.....PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS FILM! That said,'Flight Of The Red Balloon' is a beautiful little film on the human condition. It comments on the Eurocentric lifestyle, as viewed through the Asian perspective. The story concerns a single mother,played to perfection by Juliette Binoche (always welcome on screen,as I've been an ardent fan of her work since 'The Unbearable Lightness Of Being')trying to raise her young son (Simon Iteanu),with an older daughter away at school, all without her absent husband. Also in the mix is an attractive young film student from Taiwan (played by Song Fang)who has been hired as Simon's Au pair,who fits in nicely among the others. Taiwan director Hou Hsiao Hsien (Flowers Of Shanghai, Three Times)has crafted a film that is mesmerizing to look at. Despite the rather hum drum goings on that transpire that in the hands of another director would be unwatchable, Hsien manages to make every day events seem dreamy. The film is a homage (of sorts)to Albert Lamorisse's now legendary film short,'The Red Balloon',in which the balloon acts as companion to a lonely French boy. The balloon,in this case acts as a narrative device,bringing the individual elements together (the humans)for nearly two hours that you can't tear your gaze from.