Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

valadas A plain story very well told, shown, staged and acted. A very busy mother of a beautiful and talented little boy about 5 years old and a Taiwanese nurse, clever and tender-hearted (who is also a cinema student), living together daily in Paris a life full of its normal joys, daily tasks, little dramas and annoyances with much sensitivity and intelligence in a very natural, real and true atmosphere. And the red balloon? The red balloon is a symbol of freedom and poetry in that atmosphere. It appears and disappears in the air and the sky, floating always above the roofs and skimming windows and skylights now and then as something fanciful. A goody-goody movie in which stands out above all the exceptional acting of Juliette Binoche as the mother in one of the best roles I have seen of her. Remarkable is also the acting of Hippolyte Girardot as the little child.

ajoyce-222-935612 'Beautiful But Pointless' is actually a book about current American poetry by critic David Orr but to me it perfectly describes both 'Flight of the Red Balloon' as well as much of current European cinema. Whether it's Lars Triers' 'Melancholia' or another Juliette Binoche vehicle, 'Certified Copy,' these directors seem to have lost touch with basic elements of storytelling. There is an emphasis on the banal that becomes stupefying as these films progress. One is constantly distracted by the thought: where is all this leading? During 'Flight of the Red Balloon' I kept looking at my watch. Not the effect a director is hoping for, I'm guessing. True, there are some beautiful images of Paris, such as the shot of the boy Simon playing pinball with a typical Parisian block of flats reflected in the window glass in front of his face. But the camera seems to be allowed to indulge too many long, long pointless shots that add nothing to the story and barely anything to the ambiance. The only thing that approaches any semblance of metaphorical significance is of course the red balloon. We see in the museum tour that it obviously is a reference to an important work of art. In addition, as if it were a kind of guiding spirit, an actual red balloon seems to follow Simon around the streets and trams of Paris. But the director seems to lack the vision to add any depth to the image's potential for meaning. Is it trying to tease Simon into playing with it, or chasing it? Is it a symbol of the only consistent thread in his otherwise chaotic family life? Or is it symbolic of childhood itself? We get no clues. Ambiguity is certainly a useful tool in art but this stretches it beyond opaque. For me the only thing that saves this film at all is Simon himself. He is such a sweet, adorable boy that you begin to care about him the moment you first see him on screen. He's still at that magical age when trust in the world and in people is as natural as breathing. In that sense alone, this film succeeds. Otherwise, 'Flight of the Red Balloon' never really gets off the ground. One has to wonder, given some of Binoche's recent script choices, whether it's her judgment that's off or a sheer lack of scriptwriting talent in Europe these days. Where are the Wim Wenders, the Kieslowski's, the Truffault's of 21st century European cinema? Or has the fracturing of attention span from the daily media assault on the senses finally taken its toll there as much as in North America? Sad.

Frederick Malouf Really, what does the balloon have to do with the story? To reference the original 1956 film is irrelevant considering the direct relationship the balloons have with the children in the original film.Any idea of the balloon in this film is lost. Just red things everywhere. So Chinese. Pick up on something cool, layer it onto something irrelevant and then say it has meaning. I lived in Beijing for 2.5 years dealing with this stuff. Just boring.The story itself is another thing. This may have relevance in itself, but really, it is all kind of bland and boring and there is no real dynamic interaction with people. I think what the director is trying to do is relate the beauty of Chinese culture in a Western world. He fails miserably. It is a shame that they reduce the interesting things of Chinese culture to the levels that they do. Misplaced pride. Offset identities.Boring.

The-Shadow There are two types of movie goers: those who can enjoy lyrical, poetic and/or artistic films and those who cannot. If you're part of the first group, more power to you; you'll love this movie. However, if you're like me, this movie represents everything that is wrong with so-called "art films." My hatred for this movie comes from the belief that movies are, or ought to be, entertainment. They should be visual novels, not moving paintings. That is why I cannot stand most art films. They try to be art, while entirely missing the point of cinema. Don't get me wrong; films can be art, but not in the same way a painting or a sculpture is art. Movies are art the way novels are art.Time to move on to this movie in particular.Plot: There is none. I also understand that there was not even a script for this film. I don't know if it's true or not, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.Le Voyage du Balloon Rouge is more of a premise, that premise being everyone has a story to tell. While this is probably true, the makers could have easily come up with an even mildly interesting story to give the characters.In it's own way, this film is as every bit as shallow as the average summer popcorn flick. Summer popcorn flicks fill the screen with explosions and action scenes in the hope that no one will notice there's no story. This film uses the same tactic, replacing explosions for bright, colorful settings.Characters: Good movie characters are interesting and relatable. They don't even have to be likable. In fact, some of the best characters aren't truly likable.The characters of Voyage are not interesting, but oddly relatable, in an a way I'm sure the actors never intended. We've all gone through times in our life where we we feel nothing is happening in our lives. I'm sure none of us would care to watch movies about those experiences, either.Cinematography: I try to give credit where credit's due. This is a beautiful film to look at and listen to. It is truly a lovely moving painting with a build in musical score.Overall: My initial reaction to this movie was a one star-rating. However, now I've taken a step back, I give this film three stars.