The Red Balloon (1957)

he Red Balloon” is a simple yet poignant symbolical narrative that uses few words and lasts for only 34 minutes. But it remains a memorable film that speaks to audiences of all ages and captures the picturesque area of Belleville before its demolition in the 1960s. Showcasing the ability for a movie to be told with music, color, and universal images (as opposed to predominant dialogue), “The Red Balloon” is the only short to ever win an Oscar outside of the short film category.

Pascal (Pascal Lamorisse, the son of director Albert Lamorisse) wanders around the streets of Paris with his prized possession: a single scarlet balloon. The helium-filled ball seems to possess a mind of its own, oftentimes following the boy even without his grasping its string leash. When jealous schoolchildren see Pascal’s balloon, they attempt to steal it, causing it to flee to a place of safekeeping until Pascal can come to its rescue. Eventually, without caring about or understanding Pascal’s connection to the curiously animate object, his rivals capture it, intent on heartlessly destroying the orphically floating bauble.

As if guided by a magical force, the balloon is personified to be the unrequited friend that Pascal might never possess because of his insinuated uncomfortableness with childhood relationships. The balloon makes up for his outsider stance with society, even though the brief length of the film doesn’t allot time to visually demonstrate that concept; the audience is left to assume that he can’t get along with other children. It may not always obey, but it is an unconditional companion that assumes more intelligence than that of a standard pet.

Perhaps the most innovative element of “The Red Balloon” is its method of telling a story with practically no dialogue. Filmed in French, the use of subtitles is kept to an absolute minimum, making the film ecumenically understandable. Music ties it all together, in place of a narrator who might more bluntly interpret the layers of meaning for viewers and, like its tale of escapism, the themes are of far-reaching, family-friendly appeal. Unexpectedly, the picture picked up the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (an honor many considered to be utter nonsense) despite its incredibly succinct runtime and lack of spoken words.

Nevertheless, it’s an allegorical masterpiece, demonstrating the evils of misunderstandings, fear of the unknown, and the gravitation towards destruction as a default solution. It also examines the very human quest for concordant entities and a Christ-like cycle of sacrifice and reincarnation. As in 2006’s far more vivid “Pan’s Labyrinth,” imagination helps the main character escape the cruelty of an ineludible situation and to overcome insufficiencies with defense. Here, it does not exist merely in fantasy, but rather miraculous reality; impossible events inexplicably materialize to offer salvation for a misplaced soul. “The Red Balloon’s” beauty is in its simplicity and swiftness, which also serve as shortcomings. Complex reactions and analytical pondering are put to an obvious limit, despite how long the imagery may stay with audiences afterwards.

– Mike Massie