52 years later, this 'Balloon' still soars

By Steven Rea, Inquirer Movie Critic

Posted: December 14, 2007

Short, sweet and truly sublime, "The Red Balloon," 52 years since it was shot on the rain-slicked cobblestones of Paris, remains one of the great children's films of all time.

Which means it's a great film for grown-ups, too.

The simple, almost wordless tale of a tiny boy - played with wide eyes and a bowl haircut by Pascal Lamorisse - "The Red Balloon" follows the pip-squeak Parisian as he clambers up a street lamp on the way to school and comes down with a big red balloon. Off the two go, inseparable. When the scowling headmaster tells the boy to leave his balloon outside, the balloon waits, bobbing in the air, like a faithful pup.

There's magic in Albert Lamorisse's 34-minute movie (yes, the filmmaker cast his son in the lead): Not just in the seemingly effortless verite street scenes, in the tricky technical aspects of having a brilliant Technicolor orb floating around, chasing buses and skulking down alleyways, but in the story itself.

"The Red Balloon" is a beautiful little meditation on childhood, on imagination literally taking flight. The story of Pascal and his balloon represents the longings of the young - and the not so young - to escape the mundane business of daily life, and find a way to transcend, transcend.

Showing with "The Red Balloon" is "White Mane," Lamorisse's 1953 black-and-white short, a stunningly shot tale of a boy and a horse, set in the desertlike dunes of the south of France. Both films are being presented in restored, newly struck prints. The combined running time is about 75 minutes.