Black Balloon, The (Blu-ray) (2008)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	93:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Elissa Down
Studio Distributor	Icon Entertainment	Starring	Rhys Wakefield Luke Ford Toni Collette Erik Thomson Gemma Ward Lloyd Allison-Young Nathin Butler
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	$34.95	Music	Michael Yezerski

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (384Kb/s) English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (1536Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     In September 2008 I reviewed the DVD - Special Edition of The Black Balloon here. The following synopsis is from that review.

     Despite the production of many fine films in recent years, the Australian film industry continues to fight an uphill battle in gaining decent local support. The big promotional budgets of the Hollywood studios can often turn totally absurd films into reasonable money spinners simply through very clever marketing. Most Australian films don't have the luxury of such promotional budgets and rely almost entirely on word of mouth to spread their worth. Obviously, this creates a paradox because in many cases the audience isn't there in the first place.

     I went to see The Black Balloon in its first week of release at a local cinema. Only a few minutes before the film was due to start I was the only person in the cinema. Thankfully, this changed when about thirty late-comers arrived. I remember thinking at the time that yet another quality local production will fade into oblivion without most people even knowing of its existence. Well, I was very happy to be wrong - in this case at least. The Black Balloon continued to screen at that particular cinema for the next couple of months. An excellent collection of critical reviews together with modest audience support was sustaining its cinema run beyond the typical.

     In her debut feature, co-writer and director Elissa Down has drawn heavily from her own family life to create an honest and sensitive film about adolescent pressures set against the expectations of family loyalty. Life with her autistic brother became the frame from which Elissa (and co-writer, Jimmy Jack) based their story. As Elissa explains in her audio commentary, most of the scenarios in the film have actually happened or are based on real-life incidents. She also wisely decided to set the film in the early 1990's, before mobile phones and computers became essential items in running an active social life for the typical teenager.

     Certainly one of the great strengths of The Black Balloon lies in the performances of the entire cast. I'm reluctant to single out an individual performance but I feel compelled to make special mention of Luke Ford and Toni Collette who are both sublime in their roles. Also worth special mention is Denson Baker's cinematography, which uses the widescreen ratio to brilliant effect within the cramped confines of the small house. At the 2008 AFI Awards (Australian Film Institute), The Black Balloon won six of the major awards, including Best Film.

     The Mollison's are an Army family, so they move house more frequently than the average family. They are a proud, working-class family consisting of the patriarch, Simon (Erik Thomson), the very pregnant mum, Maggie (Toni Collette), fifteen year-old Thomas (Rhys Wakefield) and his older, autistic brother Charlie (Luke Ford). Although Maggie is usually a pillar of strength, the burden of pregnancy is taking its toll on her body and Simon does his best to enforce total bed rest.

     This sets a whole new list of responsibilities for Simon and Thomas and the greatest challenge is Charlie. Apart from his autism, he also suffers from ADD which requires constant attention and supervision from his family. Charlie stopped talking when he was very young and now only communicates through signing. Like most autistic people, he is a creature of routine and can be totally unpredictable. This presents Thomas with many complications as he tries to settle into a new neighbourhood and school. This is especially true when Charlie escapes the house and leads Thomas on a chase around the streets, resulting in an embarrassing but ultimately rewarding encounter with fellow classmate, Jackie (Gemma Ward).

     In spite of her witnessing the unfortunate aftermath of Charlie being locked unsupervised in his bedroom, Jackie and Thomas soon develop a close friendship. Regardless of the peer group pressures before her, Jackie's level of tolerance and understanding towards Charlie is a great support to Thomas and an awkward romance begins to flourish.

     As Thomas' sixteenth birthday approaches, he feels comfortable enough to invite Jackie over for the family dinner. With the arrival of a new baby sister, the family settle down to a traditional birthday roast meal. The night is going incredibly well until Charlie unwittingly crosses the line with Jackie and Thomas' restraint is suddenly consumed by violent retribution. Profound remorse follows as Thomas is compelled to find maturity beyond his years and except that his older brother will never be capable of living the life that Thomas wishes for him. Feelings of guilt and shame dissolve and Thomas finally embraces Charlie for who he really is.

Video

     I couldn't accurately measure the aspect ratio of The Black Balloon on Blu-ray. However, the film is not presented in the correct ratio of 2.35:1 - it is closer to the academy ratio of 1.85:1, which is 16x9 enhanced. A direct comparison with the DVD - which is in the correct ratio - reveals both editions exhibit the same image information horizontally, but the Blu-ray is far more open vertically. Obviously this isn't as the filmmakers intended but the open frame causes no issues during viewing. The Blu-ray has been encoded using MPEG-4 AVC compression and is presented in 1080p.

     Apart from not delivering the correct aspect ratio, Icon has done the film great justice by delivering an outstanding Blu-ray transfer. Sharpness levels are striking, especially during close-up scenes later in the film. Blacks were deep and shadow detail was brilliant. I still rate the DVD edition of this film very highly, but swapping between DVD and Blu-ray reveals a world of difference in terms of clarity and vibrancy.

     The colour palette used in the film is full and vibrant, displaying the colours of an Australian summer. The colours on the Blu-ray are, in a word, awesome. They are lively, natural and beautifully balanced.

     Artefacts of any description weren't an issue in this transfer.

     The only available subtitles are English for the hearing impaired. They are easily legible in various colours and are incredibly sharp on screen.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     There are two audio tracks on the disc, English DTS Master Audio 5.1 (1536Kb/s) and Dolby True HD 5.1 (384Kb/s).

     There were no problems with dialogue quality and audio sync appeared to be accurate.

     The original music by Michael Yezerski integrates perfectly to heighten the emotion of the film. Plenty of non-original music from various artists has also been incorporated nicely into the film. A few of these artists include The Screaming Jets, Jimmy Barnes and The Go-Betweens.

     The DTS Master Audio 5.1 track is a very sensible mix and uses the surround channels in a subtle, yet very effective manner. The supermarket scene at 37:52 uses typical ambient noise to excellent effect. Another highlight is the rolling thunder and pouring rain at 51:18.

     Naturally, the subwoofer was not a big player. It came alive during certain passages of music and the occasional effect, such as the previously mentioned thunder.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

     The main menu is 16x9 enhanced, static and silent, although the menu needs to be selected to appear. The disc loads directly to the film and initially bypasses the menu.

     There are no extras on this Blu-ray edition. This will be a big disappointment for those who don't own the previous DVD edition. The DVD version contains an audio commentary by director, Elissa Down, cast & crew interviews and a photographic slideshow.

    At the time of this review there is no other Blu-ray edition of The Black Balloon available.

     The Black Balloon is one of the best Australian films I've seen in recent years. The narrative cleverly avoids over sentimentality, but is often deeply moving and rich in delicate humour. The casting of the film is faultless and delivers performances that are first rate. Highly recommended.

     Despite the open framing, this transfer looks incredible. The audio transfer is also excellent and does the film great justice.

     The Blu-ray presentation is let down badly by the omission of all extras. Unfortunately, I have marked down the overall score because of this fact.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall