Starring:
Juliette Binoche
Hippolyte Girardot
Simon Iteanu
Fang Song
I think it really changed my life to work with Hou Hsaio-hsien. The fact of giving the entire freedom and responsibility to the actor to direct, write, edit is huge, you know? I found it so generous."
Slant Magazine - Mar 6 '11
“
A highlight at the 2007 Cannes, Toronto and New York film festivals, Le voyage du ballon rouge (Flight of the Red Balloon) is a masterpiece from renowned director Hou Hsiao Hsien, featuring what is widely regarded to be one of Juliette Binoche’s finest performances.
Inspired by Albert Lamorisse's 1956 Oscar Winning classic, Le Ballon rouge, Hou expands on its key elements - a young boy, a red balloon and Paris - to weave an achingly beautiful tale on the mysteries of familial bonds, the healing power of art and the lingering effects the past has on all of us throughout our lives.
A young boy, Simon (Simon Iteanu) must deal with the increasing fragility of his mother, the loving yet preoccupied Suzanne (Juliette Binoche). Completely immersed in her own tribulations, Suzanne hires Song (Song Fang), a Taiwanese film student, to help care for Simon. While she battle with her downstairs tenant Marc (Hippolyte Girardot), and tries to make contact with her daughter Louise in Brussels and her wayward partner who has been absent for some time, Song and Simon bond as they explore the streets and parks of Paris, all the while accompanied by a mysterious red balloon.
Together with Song, a unique extended family is formed, utterly interdependent yet lost in separate thoughts and dreams mirrored by the delicate, shiny red balloon.
Le voyage du ballon rouge is a subtle and soothing tour de force.
Suzanne
Marc
Simon
Song
Louise
Anna
Lorenzo
Juliette Binoche
Hippolyte Girardot
Simon Iteanu
Fang Song
Louise Margolin
Anna Sigalevitch
Charles-Edouard Renault
Directed by
Screenplay by
Produced by
Cinematography by
Film editing by
Production design by
Sound by
Produced by
In association with
Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Hsiao-Hsien Hou
François Margolin
Kristina Larsen
François Margolin
Lee Ping Bin
Yorrick La Saux
Jean-Christophe Hym
Ching-Song Liao
Paul Fayard
Shih Yi Chu
Margo Films
Les Films du Lendemain
Arte France Cinéma
Le Musée d’Orsay
Canal+
CinéCinéma
Sofica Poste Image
Région Ile-de-France
Soficinéma 3
3H Productions
a film by Hou Hsiao Hsien
2007
French trailer with English subtitles
© Provided for reference only
The Art of Being Exclusive!
Promo reel
© Provided for reference only
US trailer
© Provided for reference only
"Chin Chin" by Camille
"Le ballon rouge"