The Red Balloon

The Red Balloon (1956, France, Albert Lamorisse)

A balloon floating up in the sky still manages to catch everyone’s attention! Some will express sadness at seeing the balloon floating away, at the thought that there is a child nearby who is crying at seeing their precious balloon fly away. Despite all the technological advancements and flashing gadgets we have in society, a balloon is still an essential part of a child’s life. No birthday party would be complete without the presence of balloons. In fact, balloons complete a birthday party. This love of balloons would have made Albert Lamorisse’s The Red Balloon an easy film to be included in a childhood countdown. However, the film is present on merit in the Wonders in the Dark Childhood Countdown because it is more than just about a balloon. In its short running time of 35 minutes, The Red Balloon encapsulates all of life, including all emotions associated with a child’s growth from an early age to that of a teenager. More importantly, the film’s style, without dialogue, and story make this a timeless work that is also the purest form of cinema. The film is a beautiful blend of documentary, art and commercial cinema. In addition, the template for many contemporary films, including Hollywood animation movies, can be traced all the way back to Lamorisse’s beautifully conceived short film.

Rest can be read on Wonders in the Dark, as part of its Childhood Countdown.

Top Childhood films

The Top Childhood films countdown has begun at Wonders in the Dark. Essays of the Top 83 films will be posted from June - October 2015.  As per the ballot rules, films where the character's age fell between 1 - 18 years were eligible for consideration. Such a broad age gap certainly made for some challenges in coming up with a list because a like for like comparison is not feasible between films where the main character is under 10 years of age compared to films where the main character is a teenager. Therefore, I came up with my own criteria when submitting a ballot of the Top 60 films. I decided to place films where the main character was a teenager near the end of the list and opted to have films with younger characters closer to the front. There were some exceptions but I tried to maintain this distinction.

Here is my Top 60 Childhood films ballot submitted to Wonders in the Dark:

1. The 400 Blows / Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959, France, François Truffaut)
2. Pather Panchali (1955, India, Satyajit Ray)
3. The Red Balloon (1956, France, Albert Lamorisse)
4. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, USA, Robert Mulligan)
5. I was Born, But... (1932, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)
6. The White Balloon (1995, Iran, Jafar Panahi)
7. The Bicycle Thieves (1948, Italy, Vittorio De Sica)
8. Naked Childhood / L'enfance nue (1968, France, Maurice Pialat)
9. Where is the friend’s home? (1987, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)
10. The Kid with a Bike (2011, Belgium, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
11. Mouchette (1967, France, Robert Bresson)
12. Cinema Paradiso (1988, Italy, Giuseppe Tornatore)
13. Good Morning (1959, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)
14. Yi Yi (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
15. The Night of the Hunter (1955, USA, Charles Laughton)
16. Kes (1969, UK, Ken Loach)
17. The Kid (1921, USA, Charlie Chaplin)
18. A Brighter Summer Day (1991, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
19. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Spain, Victor Erice)
20. Hope and Glory (1987, UK, John Boorman)
21. Cria Cuervos (1976, Spain, Carlos Saura)
22. The Long Day Closes (1992, UK, Terence Davies)
23. Crows (1984, Poland, Dorota Kedzierzawska)
24. My Childhood (1972, UK, Bill Douglas)
25. Rosetta (1999, Belgium, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
26. My Neighbour Totoro (1988, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
27. Germany, Year Zero (1948, Italy/West Germany/France, Roberto Rossellini)
28. An Inn in Tokyo (1935, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)
29. Zero for Conduct (1933, France, Jean Vigo)
30. Aparajito (1957, India, Satyajit Ray)
31. Nobody Knows (2004, Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda)
32. Fanny and Alexander (1982, Sweden, Ingmar Bergman)
33. The Tin Drum (1979, West Germany, Volker Schlöndorff)
34. The Last Picture Show (1971, USA, Peter Bogdanovich)
35. Ghost World (2001, USA, Terry Zwigoff)
36. Lord of the Flies (1963, UK, Peter Brook)
37. Pixote (1981, Brazil, Hector Babenco)
38. The Childhood of Maxim Gorky (1938, USSR, Mark Donskoy)
39. Los Olvidados (1950, Mexico, Luis Buñuel)
40. Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987, France/West Germany, Italy, Louis Malle)
41. The Apple (1998, Iran, Samira Makhmalbaf)
42. Ivan’s Childhood (1962, USSR, Andrei Tarkovsky)
43. Spirited Away (2001, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
44. Blood / O Sangue (1989, Portugal, Pedro Costa)
45. Mon Oncle (1958, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
46. Aniki Bóbó (1942, Portugal, Manoel de Oliveira)
47. I Killed My Mother (2009, Canada, Xavier Dolan)
48. Let the Right One In (2008, Sweden, Tomas Alfredson)
49. Fat Girl (2001, France/Italy, Catherine Breillat)
50. Beijing Bicycle (2001, China, Xiaoshuai Wang)
51. Grave of the Fireflies (1988, Japan, Isao Takahata)
52. Dead Poets Society (1989, USA, Peter Weir)
53. Taare Zameen Par (2007, India, Aamir Khan/Amole Gupte)
54. Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990, Tunisia/France/Italy, Ferid Boughedir)
55. Mon Oncle Antoine (1971, Canada, Claude Jutra)
56. I Wish (2011, Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda)
57. Show me Love (1998, Sweden/Denmark, Lukas Moodysson)
58. A Summer in La Goulette (1996, Tunisia/France/Belgium, Ferid Boughedir)
59. Rebels of the Neon God (1992, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)
60. Kids (1995, USA, Larry Clark)