I just watched The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge), a film made in Paris in 1956.A little boy,on his way to school finds a big bright red balloon and takes it with him.At first he's not allowed on the bus and then his mother(or grandmother)throws it out of the window.The balloon instead of flying away it comes back to the window and waits until the little boy sees it .The little boy takes it with him to school and plays with the balloon on his way there.The other kids notice that this balloon is different and try to take it from the boy.The teacher gets really angry with the balloon and punishes the boy.Then all the kids chase the boy until they take away his balloon and try to burst it with their slingshots.All these happen a few years after World War II in the poor grey neighbourhoods of Paris where most buildings looked destroyed.It might seem simple and childish but these are the reasons why this film is so beautiful.It's like a poem,or a fairy tale or a song made into a film.I recommend it to anyone who hasn't forgotten what it was like being a child and hasn't lost the ability to dream and dare to be different.
