"The Red Balloon" - Film Review

You know when you feel really good; you’re all giddy and smiley and exuding a bubbliness. Well, that feeling is pretty comparable to The Red Balloon, which is a straight shot of pure unadulterated good to God happiness.  

It’s so fucking twee that you might think it’s exuberance of positiveness and colorfulness and general cuteness might be overwhelming and excessive. But it’s not. It’s charming and delightful from start to finish, and your soul has to be pretty black and empty not to smile.

A boy (Pascal Lamorisse) finds a balloon of the red persuasion and soon grows rather attached to the big shiny ball of helium. He begins taking it everywhere with him. 

What quickly becomes clear is that the balloon has a sort of consciousness to it. It moves by its own freewill as it damn well pleases. 

The boy tells the balloon to stay put but it just can’t help itself and follows the boy around. Some Looney Toons-esque classical music plays as the balloon sneaks behind the boys back and hides in doorways to avoid him looking back in time to see him. It’s adorable; actually correction: it’s the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a long, long time. 

The boy goes to school and he’s forced to leave the balloon outside. When the schoolmaster puts the boy into detention, the balloon follows the man outside of the school and taunts and harasses him to highly amusing effect. 

The red balloon sees a girl (Sabine Lamorisse) holding a blue balloon. Ah, it’s destiny! The two balloons attempt to escape their owner’s clutches to be together, but the kids are too young to get the heads up and keep moving along. 

A gang of kids keep chasing after the boy. They want the balloon, but the boy won’t let them get it. He outruns them for a while but inevitably they catch up. A rock hits the balloon and it deflates, collapsing to the ground. The boy is forced to euthanize his friend by stomping on it. And damn if it isn’t the most oddly moving thing you’ve ever seen put to celluloid. The balloon has become a character in its own right, if not the outright protagonist of the film. The film has just killed its main character!

Suddenly, in the film’s most effervescent moment yet, every balloon in the city, as if immediately aware of the balloon’s death, swarms to the boy and he finds himself lifted up by countless balloons. He’s flying high above the city. 

The film is at times like a silent film. It tells most of its story through eye catching and vivid visuals that are highly effective and leaves the sound to a minimum. This is actually a really great decision. The film doesn’t need much dialogue to impact us; it’s visuals are so wonderfully pleasing and simple that they do the job just fine on their own. 

This short film pops. The colors are bright and a whimsical, child-like wonder pervades it at every turn. Fun, charming, and utterly feel-good, it’s an absolute joy. 

Grade: B+