The Red Balloon

I wonder, is there any other 30 minute short produced in the history of film that is more enchanting and moving than "Le Ballon rouge"?

The vivid colors and the wonderful use of Paris scenery is only part of the experience, another large part is the touching performance by the director's six year old son Pascal in the lead (how lucky he didn't fall and break his neck in that opening scene where he finds the balloon!). The look on his face in the final scene is every bit as heartbreaking as that of Jackie Coogan in Chaplin's legendary "The Kid". The whole movie is reminiscent of the best Chaplin had to offer, mixed with a little Jacques Tati and a touch of storybook fantasy. On the basis of only *one* *short* film Albert Lamorisse will forever see his name in gold print in the annals of movie history, which is quite an achievement!

It will tear your heart with joy, fascination, sorrow and spellbind you with jubilation in just 30 minutes! A true classic, well deserving of it's screenplay Oscar, only a demon could be cold enough in his heart to dislike it!

Now pleeeaaase; release it on DVD!

This is one of the first films I remember seeing. My grandfather was kind enough to record it off of television for me when I was only one or two years old. I remember enjoying it alot as a very young child and I enjoy this film just as much, if not even more, today. I can appreciate the story more, now that I'm older. It is one of the truly best short films ever made, right up there with the best of Chaplin and other great short-film makers.

Wow, I thought of this film recently and remember it fondly. So, I looked it up on IMDb, hoping that this hadn't been a dream, and that it really existed. I wish I could see this film again today.

A little boy is chosen by a red balloon, which colours his otherwise dreary, grey days. I was shown this film in class in kindergarten (late '70s) and again in grade school, I believe. When I first saw it, it was with a rather existential, perhaps detached, view of it. Not much reaction, really. I didn't quite know what to make of it. Fortunately, I didn't rely on a little gang of pals to tell me what to think about it. I had never seen anything like it. It struck me that it was foreign. I liked that about it. The foreignness intrigued me, also the fact that it was old. It always impressed me how kids wore little grown-up shoes in '50s Europe. The quietness of the little boy, Pascal, also had a profound impact on me. I never understood the need for us kids in the U.S. to constantly yak about endless bull**** in order to feel secure. We never enjoy the silence. This carries on into adulthood. There's meaningless small talk, endless jibber jabber, all in an effort to hide, behind voluminous verbiage, our true sensitive selves from the big bad world. There's an existentialist problem for you. If there are any xenophobic misgivings against "the French," it's because they've long faced the human condition in a way that we as "Americans" are far too infantile as a culture to do; and, at this point, far too stunted with cultural arrested development to ever hope to do so.

I suppose the cruel little boys in the film symbolised the barbaric/insensitive "American" sensibility which I had grown used to. And the story the film conveys through such brilliant, yet simple, symbolism illumines such a range of themes—from xenophobia, alienation, solitude and introspection to friendship, loyalty and sacrifice. Simply brilliant. This film probably taught me more than a handful of my first years of schooling combined. By the time I saw this film the second time my eyes were filled with wonder and, toward the end of the film, welled over with tears.

At just over half-an-hour, The Red Balloon is for me nothing less than a beautiful masterpiece. It is truly enchanting, touching and never fails to warm my heart. Firstly, it is stunning to watch. The cinematography is beautiful and the scenery is magical. Another outstanding asset is the music, is it me or isn't it absolutely beautiful?

The story is very simple, but also very heart-warming and charming. I love the unique friendship between the young boy and the red balloon, for me along with the visuals and a scene that I will mention later this was what made The Red Balloon so good. The Red Balloon apart from the reactions of the children and the young boy is almost dialogue-less, but I think it works that way.

And I have to say Pascal Lamorisse responds very naturally to his father's adept direction and to his surrounding and does so in a very endearing and adorable way. The message of loyalty and love over cruelty and envy is admittedly weighty especially with a story so simple, but Albert Lamorisse carries it off with panache. My favourite scene has to be the joyous and heart-warming balloon-filled finale, which was a treat visually too. The Red Balloon moves very briskly so I was never bored or dissatisfied.

Overall, a beautiful masterpiece. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Splendid short movie dealing with the fantasy world of children . A red balloon with a life of its own follows a little boy (Pascal Lamorisse , son of director Albert Lamorisse) around the streets of Paris . Balloon and young boy play together in the streets and slums of Paris and attempt to elude a band of boys that wants to explode the balloon .

This timeless movie displays haunting and powerful scenes , it's plenty of frames which stay forever in the mind and there is almost no dialog spoken . The story is narrated with sensitivity and intelligence and is treated a simple adventure developed in great sense of ductility and fairness . In spite of runtime is short , this is a medium-length film, as the run is 35 minutes , it is entertaining , amusing and funny . The gentle humor developed in the film is clever and agreeable and dealing with fantastic as well as surrealist deeds . The plot is plain and simple though is only set in Parisian streets , it isn't dreary , neither boring but fun . Director tirelessly maintains the humorous ingenuity and including fantasy as when the balloon following the little boy around like a pet . Spectacular as well colorful finale when other balloons of various sizes and colors descend on the boy from all parts of Paris, and together they lift him into the sky and take him away over the horizon . Lively musical score is enjoyable and cheerful . The motion picture received awesome reviews and deserves the complete knowledge , acquiring an international reputation for its poetic quality ; receiving a grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and also winning an American Academy award. In fact , with its Oscar win for Best Original Screenplay, the film is the only short film to win an Academy award outside of the short film categories . The picture is nowadays considered to be an European cult film and it had one of the largest non-theatrical runs in the history of American cinema , as thousands of 16-millimeter prints were distributed to schools across the country.

The motion picture was stunningly directed by Albert Mamorisse , he was born in Paris and was killed, at 58 , in a helicopter crash while shooting a documentary near Teheran . He was former photographer, he turned to directing short subjects in the late 40s, and 50s involving the childhood and fantastic events . His most successful movies were ¨Crin Blanc¨ (1953) also starred by his son Pascal Lamorisse and ¨The Red balloon¨ (1956) , the latter winning an Academy Award , as it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, even though it has little dialogue . In the early 60s he turned to feature length films such as ¨Bim¨ and "Stowaway in the Sky" equally starred by his son Pascal , but with considerably less success, then retreated to documentary shorts . His last picture was ¨Le Vent Des Amoureux¨ (1978), a visually stunning helicopter tour of Iran, was later edited from his notes and was nominated for an Oscar as best feature documentary for the Academy award ceremonies of 1979.