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Flight of the Red Balloon

Flight of the Red Balloon

2007
Drama, Family/Kids
1h 55m
Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) is charming but she is a mother snowed under by obligations. With her puppet shows, the classes she teaches and the two children, Simon and Louise, that she has been raising alone since their father left, she hasn't got a minute to herself. To help her, she takes in a young Taiwanese babysitter, Song Fang, who is a student at Paris University... (imdb)
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Flight of the Red Balloon

2007
Drama, Family/Kids
1h 55m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 54.47% from 378 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(378)
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Rated 12 Mar 2009
50
20th
You know, with the right cuts and a change of music, this could be quite the scary thriller/suspense film.

"Red Balloon has only one thought on its mind, revenge on the boy that let him go. No matter where he runs, Red Balloon is just a whisper away. Taking a nap, Red Balloon is peering through the window, think the train is a safe bet, Red Balloon is waiting at the next stop. Red Balloon is out for blood, and nothing will stop Red Balloon."
Rated 26 Jul 2009
3
0th
Apparently this film is meant to say nothing, thus explaining the absence of a plot or anything that might conceivably sustain one's attention for longer than the time required to realize this fact. Saying nothing can work when it provides some other benefit, perhaps amusement, money, or satisfaction. Nevertheless, art that says nothing is now a dull cliche. By demanding attention for hours instead of seconds unlike most art that says nothing, Flight goes beyond dull to entirely irritating.
Rated 02 May 2010
85
47th
If Ozu had directed "Amelie," it might have gone something like this. "Flight" exudes a muted cuteness, though overall, despite its length, it's not as substantial as, say, Hou's "Café Lumière." It *is* pretty though, and Pin-bing Lee's cinematography is well-executed without being conspicuously so. This would have been a wonderful short.
Rated 05 Dec 2008
50
59th
A keenly observed slice of life paired with some contemplative poetic imagery. Slows to a snail's pace at times, but Juliette Binoche is wonderful as always.
Rated 28 Nov 2009
88
73rd
Nothing much happens in this film, but what happens, happens so well. Not quite fantasy, not quite a slice of Parisian life, this film charms effortlessly. The leads are nice, interesting people and it was a pleasure to spend a few hours in their company. The balloon is nice too, but, really, did not have all that much to do.
Rated 28 Nov 2009
40
11th
With great performance of Juliette Binoche
Rated 21 Oct 2010
35
90th
"Hou Hsiao-hsien's trademark long takes call attention to the passage of time, and as such they're intimately attuned to his ongoing thematic interest in the bonds between the past, present, and future." - Nick Schager
Rated 15 Jun 2008
80
92nd
If watched under the right circumstances, it could very well restore your faith in cinema.
Rated 10 Jan 2011
1
0th
Like Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys (a two-hour adaptation of Chris Marker's 28-minute La Jetée), Hou's Lamorisse remake lasts longer than the original -- but says less.
Rated 10 Nov 2008
80
58th
A beautiful, albeit sad effort from Hou. The transition to Paris works okay, though the film seems less compelling than some of his earlier work. However, he's able to communicate the chaos of Suzanne's life in a minimal way, and he balances that with moments of beauty, joy, and transcendence in her life.
Rated 24 Sep 2008
86
91st
This is life. Red is our fantasies, hopes, lived memories. Everything high above us, we cannot reach. Or do not want. Green is also an important color in this story. Green is reality, this, concrete, material. I like balloon like cinematography. There's lots of non-cut scenes with one camera. Even extremely small apartment feels like cosy and roomy place filled with good emotions. Excellent acting. Boy is good as well. Timeless story. Past, now and future. This movie put me into harmonic state.
Rated 17 Mar 2008
51
24th
Juliette Binoche gave a great performance as a single mother here and the film has more to it for those willing to watch carefully and make their own interpretations. However, what it doesn't offer, is entertainment - after leaving the cinema, I was too tired and bored to think much about it, which makes all the subtleties go amiss. Sadly, much of this fatigue came from the cinematography - a lot of shots obscuring the characters introduce a feeling of discomfort without apparent reason.
Rated 26 Jan 2014
58
33rd
Hou has a beautiful, lyrical talent and a wonderful eye but they're misapplied here to a framing conceit (the red balloon) that doesn't mesh with the director's naturalistic style.
Rated 16 Jul 2013
5
73rd
a masterpiece in gesture, 'flight...' drifts away from its kiddie classic ancestor along with its balloon, existing self-reflexively about that departure, tapping the rhythms of nostalgia and dislocation with simple, almost invisibly subtle impressionist strokes. it softly buffets and ultimately inhabits, touching much like simon's nanny's own remake of 'the red balloon' upon "very deep things i thought i'd forgotten".
Rated 24 Jan 2017
90
89th
Dang...I need to see more Hou Hsiao Hsien movies. I could have lived inside this.
Rated 08 Nov 2012
55
34th
It's visually outstanding, to be sure, with moments of unhurried melancholic beauty. Unfortunately, the obvious but tenuous allusion to the French classic is clumsily handled and the extremely long scenes that were supposed to highlight loneliness and neglect become increasingly tedious, repetitive, and lite on insight. Some would claim Hou was going for subtlety. Maybe so, but in my opinion, the point he was trying to get across remained frustratingly elusive.
Rated 26 Jul 2010
92
86th
Hou's feature is ravishing in its sedate patience. It captures the little struggles in a normal life with a watchful, concerned eye. He structures scenes so that they play out without an edit. The camera slowly tilts or pans, taking it all in like a languid, quizzical animal. The film has a lulling quality, but any time it threatens to become too slow Juliette Binoche jolts it to life with a performance that's as broad-ranging and unique as anything I've seen from her.
Rated 19 Oct 2011
85
84th
I think one of the primary messages is the meeting of two cultures. The red balloon could be associated with the red prominent in Chinese culture, floating through and discovering Paris much in the same way as the director himself. Binoche practicing the art of Chinese puppet theater, and Song, a Chinese nanny. These characters interact and even have moments of tenderness together, but they are detached, not quite involved in each other's lives. Lovely photography and a gentle score.

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