As seen at AFI Fest 2007:
Flight
of the Red Balloon
may be the first picture by international-favorite Hou Hsiao-Hsien
to generate next-to-no buzz. By making that statement, I don’t
mean to imply that the film is a bad one—one could certainly
fare far worse—but rather seek to point out that it is lacking
in the extraordinary qualities necessary to allow it to exist in
the same sphere as the rest of the renowned filmmaker’s work. If
asked to describe the movie in a single word, I would call it
“pleasant,” which might seem ironic given the fact that it is
about strained familial relationships. Strangely, however, the
adjective fits: with Flight
of the Red Balloon, Hou has crafted a delicate little
slice-of-life.
The main problem with the film may be
that it offers too
plain a vision of everyday life. The only dressing accompanying
Hou’s depiction of the central characters is the presence of a
whimsical red balloon that follows them around (a nod to one of
the writer/director’s favorite films, 1956’s thirty-four-minute The
Red Balloon). Any symbolism found in the picture—many
critics have commented on that which concerns a supporting
character’s video-camera—fails to form a cohesive, satisfying
message. What is left, as I said, is a film that is just pleasant.
In the lead role, Juliette Binoche
sports a rugged blonde dye-job as Suzanne, the stressed-out but
sincere and sympathetic mother of a young boy named Simon (Simon
Iteanu). Suzanne works hard as a voice-artist for a Paris
puppet-theatre and, because Simon’s father lives abroad, she is
forced to hire Chinese-born nanny and film-school student, Song
(Song Fang), to take care of him during the day. Song and Simon
spend most of their time together at a local bakery, where he
plays pinball; in a nearby park, where they aimlessly walk and
talk; and at home, where Simon often takes piano lessons.
Daytime is usually the least stressful part of the boy’s day
because it means he doesn’t have to deal with his mother’s
often-frantic personality. Suzanne is constantly strained due to
being overworked and being abused by her downstairs tenant’s
careless attitude toward her.
All of the main characters in the
film are affable, and the viewer comes to sympathize with them
very easily. Their emotional plights come across as being both
authentic and genuine, primarily because the cast provides them
a distinctly likable aura. (Binoche is particularly stunning in
her role, immersing herself in a type of character that she
rarely tackles as an actress.) All the while, cinematographer
Pin Bing Lee’s luscious command of Hou’s sweeping imagery
retains a beauty that has the transfixing ability to saturate
the audience in a soothing atmosphere, a remarkable feat given
the film’s less-than-fluffy content.
But, again, I digress. There is no
reason for the viewer to care about
any of these people in any greater sense than the one presented
by the plot. Just because they are well-portrayed and amiable
does not mean that they are significant. Of the Hou films that I
have seen, Flight
of the Red Balloon is
by far the least layered. Sure, the movie is more diverting and
more densely imagined than the average disposable
character-study, but it is still disposable nonetheless. Every
time I try to find greater praise for the film somewhere within
me, the only descriptor I can offer it is the exact same one
that I did in the opening of this review: pleasant.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 12.1.2007
Screened on: 11.10.2007
at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, CA.