France film school
1952/1956
color 34 min.
Director: Albert Lamorisse
CLV: Though not currently available, this title may be returning at a later date.
1 disc, catalog # CC2000L
VHS: available from Home Vision Cinema
The Red Balloon
and White Mane have been acclaimed throughout the world as two of the
finest films ever made for -- and about -- children. The stories French filmmaker
Albert Lamorisse tells in these sharply crafted featurettes are quite simple, yet
so skillful and subtle are the techniques he utilizes that these tales of a
magical balloon and a wild white stallion cut straight to the heart of a child's
view of the world. Though shot on actual locations, both films are fantasies --
children's daydreams and "make believe" play activities made real before the
camera's eye. It's a world every child will recognize instinctively -- and every
adult will remember with pleasure.The Red Balloon (1952) tells of a
small boy (played by Lamorisse's 5 1/2-year-old son Pascal) who lives in
Meilmontant district of Paris. One day on his way to school he discovers a bright
red balloon caught on a lamp post. Adopting it as his favorite toy, the boy soon
discovers that the balloon has magical powers -- and a mind of its own. Without
holding on to it, the balloon follows him down the street like a faithful dog. It
waits for him in the courtyard while the boy is at school, and plays
hide-and-seek with him afterwards in the streets and alleyways. Sadly the
balloon's abilities prove to be disruptive. The boy's classmates create an uproar
when the balloon flies into the schoolroom, and a gang of youths in the
neighborhood try to kidnap the balloon for themselves. Their pursuit of the boy
and his balloon leads to a spectacular climax in which balloons from all over
Paris come to our hero's aid.
Beautifully photographed by Edmond Sechan and
highlighted by a lovely score by Maurice Le Roux, The Red Balloon is a
unique mixture of documentary realism and theatrical illusion. All manner of
tricks are used to make an otherwise ordinary balloon appear to have a life of
its own. What gives these tricks their zest is the fact that they're performed
outdoors. The streets of Paris become an enchanted fantasyland.
The Red
Balloon won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Grand Prize at
the Cannes Film Festival, and the Educational Film Library Association's Award
for "Best Film of the Decade." It was recently the recipient of the 1984 Parent's
Choice Award.
-- DAVID EHRENSTEIN
Credits
Produced by: Films
Montsouris
Written and Directed by: Albert Lamorisse
Director of
Photography: Edmond Sechan
Music: Maurice Le Roux
Sound: Pierre
Vuillemin
Editor: Pierre Gillette
Executive Producer: Michel
Pezin
Transfer
This edition of The Red Balloon was
transferred from a 35mm master print.
