Big Picture Big Sound

Balloons don't guarantee a good time

When I was five years old, my mother took me to see "Le Ballon Rouge". Mom regretted it when I ran all around the theater annoying the other patrons, leading to our inevitable ejection from the theater. Years later I saw the masterpiece again and instead of running around I sat there enthralled, finally understanding what all the fuss was about. Albert Lamorisse wrote and directed and even though it has a running time of only 34 minutes it left an indelible mark on me. It was simply a story of a young boy walking around Paris, being followed by a red balloon but it was magical. It won the Golden Palm at Cannes and an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Hsiao-hsien Hou, the acclaimed Chinese director, must have also been overwhelmed by "Le Ballon Rouge" because fifty years later he has filmed an homage to it. "Flight of the Red Balloon" is his attempt to reproduce greatness and to expand on it. In some ways he succeeds but his task is impossible.

"Flight of the Red Balloon" also opens with a young boy and a red balloon in Paris but aside from this the films share very little. Simon (Simon Iteanu) is the young and adorable boy fascinated by the large red balloon. His mother, Suzanne (Juliette Binoche), earns a living by giving voice to a character in a puppet show. Binoche, physically a sort of French version of Julia Roberts, is ravishing in a slightly unkempt way. She has hired a nanny, Song (Fang Song) for Simon and Song moves in with the boy and his mother. They form a slightly odd nuclear family but they function as well as most others do.

The star of the movie is Paris. I have been there a few times and it has made many appearances on the big screen. Yet, the director gives it a unique look here. He turns it into an old village caught in time. The winding cobblestone streets in combination with the numerous scenes shot through sun drenched glass makes us feel like Paris really is special. The melancholy piano soundtrack adds to this mood without intruding. One major problem is that for some reason many of the extras look at the camera instead of blending into the background. One young boy even waves into the camera for a second. Why these things weren't cut out of the final product is a mystery to me.

Hsiao-hsien Hou's intent is admirable and understandable. Who can blame him from trying to reproduce the enchantment that he must have felt when he first saw "Le Ballon Rouge"? I doubt there is a director who could have done a better job. He has come up with a beautiful looking film but in the end there is no feeling that goes along with the gorgeously warm hues. The lesson is clear. Never try and improve on perfection. Long after this nice attempt has been forgotten, the original balloon will continue to soar.