LE BALLON ROUGE ( The Red Balloon, 1956) **1/2 A little boy has a most glorious, vibrant, gigantic red balloon. This antagonizes and astounds adults. All the kids want to get it from him. The end. That's it, pretty much. So it's a dull film? Goodness, no! It's beautiful. Oh, but....? Well, it's by Albert Lamorisse. Oh, ok, so it's about him? Nooo..it's about YOU! Oh really...huh. No well but it's nice to look at but it can be seen as a metaphor, you see. Of what? Oh, you know, I don't know, something that can't be pinned down... Like a balloon? Yes, that's it, exactly! Kind of...something so irreplaceable that...you know, something spirited, so spirited that it defies metaphors. Might the red balloon symbolize the spirit of communism, you know, the way they throw it out of church and it causes havoc in the schools and all? I doubt it, this is both too real and ethereal for politics.
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