Flight Of The Red Ballon

Flight Of The Red Ballon (2007) is another mesmerizing film from Taiwanese director Hou Hisiao-hsien. In fact this is his most recent film and it has the usual stunning cinematography with usual cinematographer Ping Bin Lee and paris at his disposal. It is another commissioned film (like the Japan backed collaboration Cafe Lumiere) and French collaboration. This is also a homage to the Oscar winning short film The Red Ballon (1956), which I haven't seen yet--now I feel the need to find the source of inspiration. This is the story of a modern fragmented family. The always effective Juliette Binoche plays a brassy mother who is a professional puppeteer voice reader and artist raising a young son in the aftermath of a divorce, thus she employs a French speaking Chinese graduate film student as a nanny for her son Simon. She is making a film about Simon and the red balloon and incorporates scenes from the family's messy life and Simon's childish escapist fantasies. There is not much of a plot and it has deliberate pacing, but it is worth the patience as it charms the viewer with the images and music throughout.