The White Balloon (1995)

Several people try to help a little girl to find the money her mom gave her to buy a goldfish with.

Director:

Jafar Panahi

Writers:

Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi (original idea)

Stars:

Aida Mohammadkhani, Mohsen Kafili, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aida Mohammadkhani	...	Razieh
Mohsen Kafili	...	Ali
Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy	...	Mother
Anna Borkowska	...	Old Lady
Mohammad Shahani	...	Soldier
Mohammed Bakhtiar	...	Tailor
Aliasghar Smadi	...	Balloon Seller
Hamidreza Tahery	...	Reza
Asghar Barzegar	...	Pet Shop Manager
Hasan Neamatolahi	...	Snake Charmer
Bosnali Bahary	...	Snake Charmer
Mohammadreza Baryar	...	Client in Tailor's Shop
Shaker Hayely	...	Tailor's Assistant
Homayoon Rokani	...	Street Singer / Dancer
Mohammad Farakani	...	Shop Keeper

Storyline

Razieh wants a fat goldfish for the Iranian New Years celebration instead of the skinny ones in her family's pond at home, because the fat fish looks like it's dancing when it swims. After many attempts she and her brother convince their mother to give them her last bit of money. Between their home and the fish store, Razieh loses the money.. She finds it, but it is temptingly just out of her reach.

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Plot Keywords:

money | little girl | shopkeeper | snake charmer | new year's day | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

sourehcinema

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian

Release Date:

1995 (Iran)

Also Known As:

The White Balloon

Filming Locations:

Kashan, Iran

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$474,047

Company Credits

Production Co:

Farabi Cinema Foundation, Ferdos Films, I.R.I.B. Channel 2

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Iran, films depicting children are the most likely to avoid censorship or political controversy, and The White Balloon was screened exclusively in theaters that specialized in children's films. Because of this the film had low attendance on its initial run in Iranian theaters, with only 130,000 tickets sold.

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Quotes

Shop Owner: Time to go home now.

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Connections

Featured in A Story of Children and Film (2013)

User Reviews

The quest of a little girl to buy a goldfish, and the swindlers in her way who try to take advantage of her innocence.

It was my big sister's turn to pick a film to go to when we were gorging ourselves in what the Reykjavik cinema festival had to offer back in the days. Didn't expect anything but mushy boredom for an hour and a half. Instead of the sentimental torture I had braced myself for, I became spellbound by this beautiful story that totally held me captivated right from the beginning to the end. The little girl, Aida who plays the protagonist, was ever so sincere and true in her role that you forgot you were watching a film, and even I felt a couple of masculine tears running down my cheeks. The White Balloon is simply a gorgeous film and it's out of the blue quirky humor elevates it even further. Even with the wet towel slap in the end, I truly loved the whole of this Persian confect buffet down to it's last bit, ... and still do!