The Black Balloon (2008)

All Thomas wants is a normal adolescence but his autistic brother, Charlie, thwarts his every opportunity. Will Thomas, with the help of his girlfriend, Jackie, accept his brother?

Director:

Elissa Down

Writers:

Elissa Down, Jimmy Jack (as Jimmy The Exploder)

Stars:

Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Toni Collette

18 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rhys Wakefield	...	Thomas Mollison
Luke Ford	...	Charlie Mollison
Toni Collette	...	Maggie Mollison
Erik Thomson	...	Simon Mollison
Gemma Ward	...	Jackie Masters
Sarah Woods	...	Woman Next Door
Sam Fraser	...	Kid Next Door
Makirum Fahey-Leigh	...	Mate of Kid Next Door
Oliver Brookes	...	Other Mate of Kid Next Door
Jan Ringrose	...	Neighbour
Bradley Orford	...	Neighbour
Zelie Bullen	...	Mother in Van
Anthony Phelan	...	Mr. Masters
Deborah Piper	...	Janet - Social Worker
Henry Nixon	...	Trevor - Social Worker

Storyline

Thomas is turning 16. His Dad is in the army and they've just moved to a town in New South Wales; his mum is pregnant; his older brother, Charlie, who's autistic, has his own adolescent sexual issues. Thomas finds Charlie an embarrassment in public, so when Thomas is attracted to Jackie, a girl in his swim class, Charlie presents any number of obstacles when she drops by their house, when the three of them go for a walk, and during a family birthday dinner. Can Thomas find a way to enter the world of teen romance and still be his brother's keeper, or is Charlie's disability going to prove more than Thomas can handle?

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Plot Keywords:

screaming | bath | poop | dingleberry | 1990s | 

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Taglines:

Normal is relative.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, a scene of violence, and brief strong language

Details

Country:

Australia UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 March 2008 (Australia)

Also Known As:

A fekete léggömb

Filming Locations:

Bardia Parade, Holsworthy, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD5,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,136,663

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), Black Balloon Productions, Icon Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Charlie Mollison is based on a young adult with autism named Sean, who is the younger brother of director/co-writer Elissa Down. The portrayal of Charlie by cast member Luke Ford was so convincing, Down sometimes used the name "Sean" when talking to Ford in rehearsals and on set.

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Quotes

Russell: [sitting next to Thomas, who does not have autism but has been forced to get a ride to his school by riding in the special-education school bus with his brother Charlie who has autism; Russell has autism and is Charlie's friend] Are you riding the bus? Are you coming to our school?
Thomas Mollison: No, no!
Russell: Oh, yes you are! Thomas is coming to our school! Thomas is riding the bus with Charlie! Thomas is riding the bus with Russell! Do you like buses, Thomas? Do you like buses?
Thomas Mollison: [...]

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Crazy Credits

During the opening credits which appear over a montage of the Mollison family moving into a new home, the names of things, objects, and people in the frame are superimposed over them--such as "sky" and "lace curtains" and "brother"--in the same typeface and type size as the credits. The responsible staff person from the company that designed the opening credits was inspired by what he learned about autism because of involvement in this film, namely, what he came to understand of how people with autism see things, and by the way the film's character with autism, Charlie, uses sign language to identify things.

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Sizzling Superstars (2009)

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Soundtracks

When We Get There (Beautiful Days)
Written by Michael Yezerski and Josh Pyke
Performed by Josh Pyke

User Reviews

A welcome challenge

Are you sitting comfortably? Are you a tolerant, open-minded person reading this? How about if someone walks into your house, your bathroom, while your daughter is taking a shower. They act extremely weird. Can you still be kind and tolerant, acting reasonably towards a strapping young man who, unknown to you, is autistic?

The tagline for this film is, "Normality is relative." So just how much of someone else's normality can you take?

According to director Elissa Down, the Black Balloon is, "a metaphor for a 'different' childhood filled with moments of chaos, joy and sadness for what may have been." Our cinematic awareness of autism is probably defined by Rain Man, or the more nuanced but rarely seen Snow Cake. Elissa Down says how, "it was very important in the rehearsal process to take it to the streets and for Thomas and Charlie and Jackie and Thomas to do some road-testing of their characters in public." Charlie, her main character, announces the family arrival to the neighbours by banging a wooden spoon and wailing on the front lawn. Charlie doesn't speak. He's autistic and has ADD. He's unpredictable, unmanageable, and often disgusting. He recalls not the mediated autism of Rain Man or Snow Flake but the out-of-control weirdness appropriated by Lars von Trier's characters in the controversial film, The Idiots.

Charlie is not 'nice' – at least not until you've managed to see him through the eyes of his devoted parents. To them, he is like a big child who has frequent tantrums. He's not an ideal brother to younger sibling Thomas, who's just turning sixteen. Especially as the girl in the shower is the girl he is trying to date. Especially as when he finally has her over to dinner, Charlie gets his testosterone-filled kit out at the table and gives it a good rub.

The shower girl is Jackie Masters, Thomas' partner for basic life-saving classes at school. In what seems like a happy nod to mainstream cinema, Jackie is not only gorgeous but has a beautiful personality. She helps Thomas to feel more caring towards his brother as they soon form a threesome for days out together.

Toni Collette plays the boys' Mum, heavily pregnant. Which means Charlie is called on to help Dad around the house a bit more and with looking after Thomas.

The Black Balloon is an excellent example of Australian cinemas coming-of-age movies. It fearlessly reaches outside the box and sets up a tug-of-war between normalcy and idiosyncrasy. Although there are elements of rather unsubtle box-office pandering (the photogenic young couple and a rather simplistic finale) it opens up new challenges in the way we think about people. The Black Balloon is a film of which to be proud.