As a child I used to spend a lot of time watching old movies that I inherited from my older siblings. There are two of them that I remember distinctively since I watched them over and over again to the point that the VHS was worn out. One of them was “Le Ballon Rouge”.
It is a beautiful story about a little boy that lives in Paris and his relationship with a red balloon, hence the name. The short film directed by Albert Lamorisse won an Oscar for best original screenplay in 1956. It was shot in Paris in the Ménilmontant neighborhood and Albert used his own children as actors.
“The Red Balloon” has inspired “Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge”, a 2007 French feature film, directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien and starring Juliette Binoche.
It is just beautiful.
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