Review of The Black Balloon (2008) by Mike C — 13 Sep 2010

I've seen some pretty good Australian movies. This one is right up there with Opal Dream. The previews were pretty bad so I had low expectations for the movie, but it turned out to be pretty touching.

The idiots are out in full force on imdb. Gilbert Grape features an autistic boy so this must be a knock-off. And Rainman. While both of those are great films, better than this one (GG is a fav of mine for its brilliance), they should not take away from this. Those are just small-minded people trying to sound intelligent because they've now seen two movies with autistic characters.

I always appreciate these cheaper films that feature great scenes and shots. That's true talent instead of just expensive equipment. There are some great shots and the practice CPR scene I thought was friggin fantastic in capturing the moment. Overall, I thought they movie did well to examine some of the feelings associated with being in a different family and how they are viewed in the community (GG also does this but oh well). It is also touching at times because you do feel for the characters even when they do seemingly stupid or bad things.

Collette plays a perfect role. Wakefield is good. I've not seen the guy who plays Charlie before so have nothing to compare him to, but he was pretty good as an autistic. The big talk revolves around Gemma Ward. She's a younger, thinner, more German version of Amanda Seyfried. I was skeptical since she is a model, but she's plenty likeable. Mean things will be said because she lives the model life, but I liked her in the movie and she does have some cool modeling stuff out there.

There are some strikes. The show at the end was pretty stupid, I thought. And I think anytime one tries to portray something as unique as autism, he opens himself up for some criticisms. Overall, I just liked how everyone bonded even after fights. The tagline has something to do with normalcy. If everyone was more inclined to do what is good instead of what is normal, as this family often does in the movie, we'd all be a little better off.