Flight of the Red Balloon (Voyage du ballon rouge, Le) (Directors Suite) (2007)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Interviews-Cast-At the Movies : Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien (5.40) Theatrical Trailer-1.32 Short Film-The Red Balloon (34.23) Short Film-White Mane (38.19)
Rating
Year Of Production	2007
Running Time	110:00 (Case: 113)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Hsiao-hsien Hou
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Juliette Binoche Simon Iteanu Fang Song Hippolyte Girardot Louise Margolin Anna Sigalevitch
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English (Burned In)	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The Flight of the Red Balloon ( Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge) is Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's first film made outside of Asia. That it should be made in France is no suprise. The French have been ardent admirers of his work and several of his earlier features received high praise and awards at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film is a homage of sorts to Albert Lamorisse's Oscar winning short film The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge) from 1956 in which a small Parisien boy befriends, for want of a better word, a bright red balloon and the two are virtually inseperable until bullies step in. In Hou's film the red balloon is more of an observer than a participant - eavesdropping on the conversations and situations.

Hou is a master of stillness and observation. His shots are expertly and beautifully composed and he allows most scenes to breathe and flow naturally . His scenes can be extremely long and the script for this film, by the director and Francois Margolin, seems almost entirely improvised.

Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) is a hard working voice artist working on puppet theatre. She has appointed a new nanny, Song (Fang Song) to look after her young son Simon (Simon Iteanu). Song is a film maker from Taiwan who makes reflective pieces about ordinary life. She films Simon constantly and is slightly obsessed with Le Ballon Rouge and begins making her own homage to it.

There is no plot to the film as such. There is no conflict either, unless you count the sometimes heated relationship between Suzanne and her lodger Marc (Hippolyte Giradot) who hasn't been paying the rent. I don't want to spoil the film for anyone but it should be noted that whilst it is said of many films that "nothing happens" this is one film for which that mantle is correct. Nothing happens.

Yet the film is strangely compelling. The rewards are there for the patient. Gradually the simple day to day existence of these characters begins to coalesce into a meaningful whole. Suzanne busies about her work and tries to have a strong bond with her son. Song is the observer trying to understand the city. Small events like piano lessons, moving the piano and tuning the piano occupy significant film time but attain a quiet resonance. It is a poem and best viewed as such.

Hou shoots Paris without reference to the landmarks. Instead it is a similar Paris to that of the short film - urban and a little grey. Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bing works with obliques and a shallow depth of focus. The apartment is warmly lit, densely packed and Hou uses the tight spaces well to suggest a family in tight connection with each other. Flight of the Red Balloon is a terrific film to look at with the simple poetry of the images creating a quiet sense of wonderment.

The performances are low key. Song is an observer and Suzanne is the only person who brings the heat of the film above room temperature. Binoche is lovely to watch - a harried bundle of Bohemian chic darting from place to place.

The Flight of the Red Balloon is not for everyone. In the interview which forms one of the extras to this film director Hou describes his process as Fubixing - creating a film in the manner of a fugue - combining elements without the Western necessity for defined story. Fans of films like In the Mood for Love will enjoy the gentle rhythms of this different and exceptional film.

Video

    Technical specifications for The Flight of the Red Balloon are in short supply.

Various sources suggets that it is presented on DVD in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and I have no reason to dispute this suggestion. The DVD is 16x9 enhanced.

The deliberate look of the film is soft with diffuse lighting and warm interiors. On the face of it that could make for unimpressive DVD material but the transfer looks sumptuous within those parameters. Colour are accurate including skin tones.

There was some low level noise apparent in some scenes particularly the outdoor moments.

The print itself had a few minor marks and blemishes throughout.

Strangely, the subtitles are burned into the print. They are a little small but in clear typeface and can be read fairly easily. Some moments are not subtitled. Hou seems to choose a perspective for a scene then regard that which the character can not understand as extraneous. To give an example - the train scene with Song, Suzanne and the puppet master features long stretches of Chinese dialogue which is not subtitled. It is, however, translated into French for Suzanne.

Video Ratings Summary

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Audio

   The DVD case boasts of a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack as a "special feature" of the package. Pity it is not there! The actual soundtrack (of which there is only one) is a Dolby Digital 2.0 French soundtrack running at 224 Kb/s.

Misleading advertising aside, the soundtrack does a good job of conveying both the dialogue and ambient sound for the film. All the dialogue is clear and appears to be in correct audio sync.

Music for the film comes in two forms. There are the occasional French songs - including a wonderful rendition of Richard Anthony's Tchin Tchin by French chanteusse Camille. Further, there is what could best be described as plaintive piano meanderings throughout the film that perfectly capture the mood and style of the movie.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Interviews- Hou Hsiao-Hsien

The interview with director Hou is brief but nevertheless enlightening. He describes his approach to the film and his Asian sensibilities when dealing with story elements.

Theatrical Trailer

The Theatrical trailer is a nice summary of the film.

Short Film - The Red Balloon

The Red Balloon is an essential addition to the package for those who have not seen the original to view before watching the homage. Having not seen it for over 20 years it seems more fey now than I remember it and the music score by Maurice Leroux is fairly intrusive. Still, you can't help but be captured by this simple tale of a boy and his new best friend.

Short Film- White Mane

White Mane, also by Lamorrisse is a bit of a suprise packet. Not having seen it before it is a genuinely intriguing short film about a boy who forms a bond with a mighty horse that local ranchers have written off as being too wild. Shot simply in black and white it is as much an insight into rural Southern France as The Red Balloon was of inner city Paris.

    The film is available on DVD in Region 1 and Region 2. The Region 1 offers no extras but does have the 5.1 soundtrack and additional subtitle options. The Region 2 release mirrors our own with the addition of an extra DVD of the short films. It has the 2.0 soundtrack however apparently the film is on a single layer DVD which results in minor compression issues. Go for the Region 4.

   The Flight of the Red Balloon is a contemplative movie experience which will inspire either love or hate amongst viewers.I have rated the "plot" above at 4 stars despite the fact that it doesn't have one due to the feeling that the film achieved in telling its story exactly what the director hoped to achieve.

It is well transferred to DVD with a collection of useful and interesting extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall