My earliest memory of seeing a film at school was "The Red Balloon". It had to be first grade when I first saw this movie. Found it fascinating and compelling. It seems to me that it was black and white back then... I accidentally ran into this film again the other day on You Tube. This video looks colorized to me.
It still stands the test of time. Even without English subtitles, you know what the little French boy and his balloon are thinking.. So if you have never seen this great film which won every award possible in 1957, by all means watch this video. Show it your children and their children. So happy I was able to revisit this magical film...Pascal was such a darling little boy.
It still stands the test of time. Even without English subtitles, you know what the little French boy and his balloon are thinking.. So if you have never seen this great film which won every award possible in 1957, by all means watch this video. Show it your children and their children. So happy I was able to revisit this magical film...Pascal was such a darling little boy.
The Red Balloon (Le Ballon rouge) begins with young Pascal walking to school alone in gritty inner-city Paris. he finds a large red balloon attached to the top of a lamp post and rescues it.
The balloon is then his companion. Everywhere the balloon goes, it causes Pascal trouble. It shortly becomes apparent that the balloon is sentient, and appreciates Pascal; it waits for him outside his apartment and reluctantly obeys his command. The balloon is a metaphor for the whimsy of childhood. Regardless of any problems it may cause, the viewer always knows that Pascal is better off for having its company.
The Red Balloon (French: Le Ballon rouge) is a 1956 fantasy featurette directed by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. The thirty-four minute short, which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a sentient, mute, red balloon, was filmed in the Ménilmontant neighborhood of Paris, France.
It won numerous awards, including an Oscar for Lamorisse for writing the best original screenplay in 1956 and the Palme d'Or for short films at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. The film also became popular with children and educators.
Lamorisse used his children as actors in the film. His son, Pascal Lamorisse, plays Pascal in the main role, and his daughter Sabine portrays the little girl.
