The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge, 1956) a French Fantasy Short - Written, Directed, and Produced by Albert Lamorisse, Starring Pascal Lamorisse

[DIShGo]

"The Red Balloon" is a sweet, simple and visually appealing film. Just 35 minutes long, it tells the story of a young boy who finds a shiny red balloon in the streets of Paris. The boy takes the balloon everywhere he goes. It soon becomes apparent that the balloon has a mind of its own. It follows the boy everywhere, and hovers outside his window when his mother won't let him bring it inside.

It is a lovely little tale of friendship, love and devotion. It captures the innocence of childhood, and highlights the fact that children can also be quite cruel to one another.

There is virtually no dialogue and a lovely score. The little boy wears all gray, and the streets of Paris are shown in muted shades of bluish gray. The shots of the shiny red balloon against this backdrop are stunning. This film was made by someone with an artistic eye.

I read some reviews that saw a deeper meaning in the film. Perhaps there were religious or political messages to be found. I enjoyed "The Red Balloon" on its most basic level. It made me feel like a child again. A balloon to a child is the world! Can you imagine having one that follows you around and waits for you outside your school?

[DonRocks]

Like "Rope," "The Red Balloon" is a film I've been hearing about seemingly forever, but had never gotten around to seeing. Like so much French Avant-Garde cinema (and I'm not even sure this falls into the Avant-Garde genre). I liked this film a lot, but I'm not sure I loved it like I thought I would - it's the type of movie that *clearly* has multiple layers of meaning, and I just haven't been able to "peel the onion," so to speak - at least not to my satisfaction.

If it's an essay on bullying, it sure seems like they went to a lot of trouble to make it; if it's a meditation on friendship, it isn't clear to me; if it's a political statement on freedom (don't forget, World War II ended just eleven years before), it's fairly obtuse; taken on its own, superficial level, it's a pleasant, but mystifying screening.

To summarize: I liked "The Red Balloon" very much, and I have no idea why.

This might be a stretch, but there's something similar with "The Red Balloon" and "The Little Prince," (1943) and I'm not sure what it is - both clearly involve childhood innocence, but I'm having trouble remembering details about "The Little Prince," so I can't go into any depth with this statement.

[DIShGo]

I am not so sure it is meant to have multiple layers of meaning. It might. For me, there is something so pure and joyful about this film--like childhood itself--that makes watching it a pleasure.

[DonRocks]

22 minutes ago, DIShGo said:

I am not so sure it is meant to have multiple layers of meaning.

It *must*. Why else would a balloon be sentient, and the colors be so extreme in opposition (e.g., the girl with the blue balloon, and the industrial-gray background)? Plus this period in French cinema is known for being pretty far out there - I think there's a lot to grasp onto here without necessary requiring multiple viewings to do so; I just don't know what it is. Here's one cynical take:

Nov 23, 2007 - "Red Balloon and White Mane: Childhood Colored by Adult Cynicism" by Philip Kennicott on washingtonpost.com

This may be one film where reading as many critiques as possible would do me some good, and I rarely say that.

Here's the film, in its entirety. One note: This film won the Oscar for "Best Original Screenplay" not just for shorts, or foreign films; but for *all* films.

 

[DIShGo]

To me, its all right there. Life, death, love, loyalty, jealousy, cruelty, redemption. I don't think anything is hidden. It is sweet and simple and pure. That's the beauty of it. Much like an Alice Munroe short story. The beauty lies in the telling of it.

 

[DonRocks]

I just watched the entire film again, and as Philip Kennicott cynically (and almost angrily) points out, there are very strong parallels to the slaying of Christ. 

Okay, there are very strong parallels to the slaying of Christ. Ever since Byzantium (and even before that), works of art have been centered around the slaying of Christ. 

If you want an example, start with Bach BWV 1, "Wie Schön Leuchtet der Morgenstern," and continue through all of his Cantatas. So what?

 

[saf]

When I was a kid in elementary school, we were shown this periodically. I never understood why, but always enjoyed it. (Started school in 1970.)