Le ballon rouge

Le Ballon Rouge, the red balloon from the wonderful children’s classic by Albert Lamorisse, that won an Oscar and an award at Cannes in 1956, recently again acquired a leading role in a new film by Hou Hsiao-hsien: Le voyage du ballon rouge. In Lamorisse’s short allegory about humility and jealousy, and good and evil, the bright red balloon in the greyish blue streets of 1950s Paris provides a pretext for the portrayal of one of the most desirable human characteristics: childlike amazement. When a little boy frees a balloon that has got tangled up with a lamppost, at first he doesn’t dare to let go. As soon as he has conquered his fear, his trust is rewarded and the balloon follows him everywhere. Against the background of the sympathetic but also surprised looks of adults, the two move through the streets of Montmartre and the greyish set in which the frail little boy looks very fragile, suddenly turns into a maze filled with pleasure. Until his suddenly enviable property wakens the greed of other children and childlike innocence seems very short-lived. This apparently playful exploration briefly acquires a serious or even religious dimension. The delightful, narrative film music, that is more emphatically present than the sparse dialogue, eventually leads to a liberating and colourful ending.