Review of Flight of the Red Balloon (2007) by Chris B — 08 Nov 2008
More of a homoge then an actual remake, this is one of Hou most tender films. I was completely smitten by the nanny in the film, a Chinese national and budding filmmaker who is making a video about red balloons.
She and her charge, Simon, radiate a kind of calm that gently ripples each time Juliette Binoche's character enters their world. As always, too, Hou's sense and command of spaces, especially interiors, is on full display.
For roughly the first half of the film the action unfolds via a single static shot of a small dining room and an obscured kitchen. When the camera finally reverses to allow us to see what lies beyond the dining room it's as much a elegant narrative device as it is a breathtakingly aesthetic one.
This one nicely lingers.
This review of Flight of the Red Balloon (2007) was written by Chris B on 08 Nov 2008.
Flight of the Red Balloon has generally received positive reviews.
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