Flight of the Red Balloon

Released Apr 4, 2008

1h 54m

Drama

List

82%

91 Reviews

Tomatometer

60%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

As a single mother in Paris, Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) struggles to spend enough time with her young son, Simon (Simon Iteanu), between her job voice-acting at puppet shows and handling a court case against her downstairs tenant (Hippolyte Girardot), who refuses to leave. As a result, Suzanne hires Song (Song Fang), a local university student, to watch Simon while she works and deals with the case. Together, Simon and Song create a vibrant world of imagination, where a red balloon follows them.

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Critics Consensus

Hou Hsiao-hsien's remake of the 1956 classic is unhurried, contemplative, and visually rapturous.

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Melissa Anderson

4Columns

Each character an outsider in some way-Simon owing to his age, Song to her nationality-the child and his minder form a tender dyad, one marked by reciprocated respect and curiosity.

Jan 25, 2019

Full Review

Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Rated: 3/4

Nov 24, 2011

Full Review

Hank Sartin

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

It works especially well when Juliette Binoche is front and center.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 7, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

A charming, achingly beautiful ode to childhood, channeling the pure-hearted essence of Lamorisse's immortal masterwork.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 6, 2019

Full Review

Daniel Kasman

MUBI

...a release from a desire to control and finds joy in a simple pleasure, a simple presence, a lovely mood.

Nov 17, 2017

Full Review

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Audience Member

Dang...I need to see more Hou Hsiao Hsien movies. I could have lived inside this.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hou's first film outside of Asia and his tribute to Lamorisse's Oscar-winning short is always engaging and pleasant to watch, even when at times we have the impression that it is drifting like the red balloon and its conflicts don't become as compelling as they could.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Juliette Binoche plays her part brilliantly, I guess, at least on the first half of the movie. Then I decided that I didn't enjoy the story and stopped.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Adored this film as it began to gain a little momentum, but with 2 plot points unresolved, weirdly, it just stops and kinda leaves you hanging. Life is set in Paris and it is portrayed as both beautiful and chaotic. You're led through the wear and tear of a single mother's life with her son - including the joy and the mundane - and her attempts to balance work with the stresses of a crappy neighbour - who is also her tenant - and supporting her new employee, Song, who's just been hired as a Nanny to the young boy. Binoche is just wonderful and supporting actors (non-actors I assume) work well with what seems to be a largely improvised script.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is the first to show me that a film doesn't necessarily have to follow a plot. Sometimes, movies are just meant to show something. The purpose of this film, as I gather it, is to demonstrate the wandering qualities of children and their somewhat aloof regard towards mayhem. Children emit a sense of lightness, as does a balloon. Flight is freedom.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

If you like car chases and lots of explosions, this isn't the movie for you. Contemplative and subdued, this is a "slice-of-life" film that doesn't have anywhere in particular to go. I really enjoyed going along for the ride, though, finding the rhythms of daily life portrayed in the film hypnotic and authentic. I don't know what it's like to be a voice actress working for a Chinese puppet troupe, living in a cramped Paris apartment with my son, but I got a fascinating glimpse watching this film. I liked that when we first meet Binoche's character Suzanne, the shots are all medium or long, and it isn't until at least midway into the film that you get to really see her face and her expressions in close up shots. It's kind of like when you first meet someone, you get certain superficial impressions of them, but it takes time to really get to know them, and to maybe share quiet moments when you see glimpses of who they are underneath the surface. At first Suzanne kind of seems like a tornado of stress and frustration, but later, in quiet moments, we see how much she loves her son, and we start to understand what makes her tick. Song's presence in the film is muted but she has a quiet strength and gentleness that is compelling and calming. We know that she will take care of Simon and will create a thoughtful, beautiful film, too, just like filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

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Hsiao-hsien Hou

Director

Juliette Binoche

Suzanne

Simon Iteanu

Simon

Hippolyte Girardot

Marc

Song Fang

Song

Louise Margolin

Louise

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Synopsis

As a single mother in Paris, Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) struggles to spend enough time with her young son, Simon (Simon Iteanu), between her job voice-acting at puppet shows and handling a court case against her downstairs tenant (Hippolyte Girardot), who refuses to leave. As a result, Suzanne hires Song (Song Fang), a local university student, to watch Simon while she works and deals with the case. Together, Simon and Song create a vibrant world of imagination, where a red balloon follows them.

Director: Hsiao-hsien Hou
Screenwriter: Hsiao-hsien Hou, François Margolin
Distributor: IFC First Take
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $459.4K
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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