What does the Red Balloon symbolize for you? What does the film express for you personally as you watched it? For me it represents innocence, passion, youth and individual freedom of expression. The boy with the balloon is rejected and in some cases, punished, by several authority figures and/or institutions. He is prevented from bringing the balloon on the bus, he gets in trouble at school because of it, he doesn't last long in the church with it, and finally, he becomes a target for jealous bullies because of it. Yes, the film has loads of anthropomorphism and at times its special effects "slip" is showing, but it remains powerful and memorable. In a way, it is a revolutionary film. ***Spoiler Alert!*** Balloons all over Belleville seem to jump into action at the violent death of the heroic Red Balloon. There is even a love story subplot involving a seemingly female blue balloon! Could the film have other, more political interpretations? Perhaps it could. For me it's about how society always seems to want to control, prohibit, regulate, punish and even eliminate that which is different or that which is too free with its personal expression. Overall, I think its a great film and so does my five-year-old daughter who just watched it for the first time.
Review of The Red Balloon
