In 1956, a short and fresh little film "Red Balloon" with only 34 minutes was released in France. The famous director, the Frenchman Albert Lamorisse, is the creator of this film. Although short and simple, there are no superstars, no big scenes, and even almost no lines, this film has won many extremely high awards, such as the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1957, the BAFTA Special Award, The 1956 Cannes International Film Festival Palme d'Or for Best Short Film and the 1956 Louis Deluc Award. For this film, people have various evaluations, and this article mainly analyzes it from the perspective of audio-visual language, hoping to spy on its art and ideas through the lens.
Click here for the full analysis video! Plot characters: Pierre, Red Balloon; Acquaintance: Unintentional encounter on the way to school. Companionship: Pierre loves red balloons and plays with them every day. And the spiritual balloon also liked Pierre very much and followed him all the time. Separable: The balloon was snatched by a group of children, and a child broke the balloon with a slingshot. Consolation: Just as the little boy was sad, all the balloons in the city flew towards him. In the end Pierre took all the balloons and flew over the city. There is almost no dialogue. The film relies entirely on fresh and simple lens language to tell a simple and deeply rooted fairy tale story, which brings a touch of sweetness and innocence to the viewer, as well as a heavy aftertaste and reflection.
1. In the bland and the details, I see Chippier walking alone on the way to school when he encounters a puppy. Pauses to pet the puppy affectionately, and leaves for a long time, looking back before going down the stairs. This is the first shot of the film, a small action design, showing a lonely and loving image of a little boy. On the way from school, Pierre ran to the center of the bridge with a balloon, watching the train pass under the bridge, and a large group of steam rose, a simple and playful child. In order to avoid the rain, walk with pedestrians with umbrellas all the way. The red balloons under the umbrella are crowded around because they are too big, which is funny and cute. Even though the pedestrians looked at the red balloon strangely, Pierre had no intention of taking the balloon away. Whenever he is with the balloon, the red balloon is also with him, paying attention to each other, cherishing and liking each other. Red Balloon and Pierre were hanging out in the market together, attracted by the self in the mirror, touched the mirror lightly, looked in curiously and shyly, showing the cuteness and mischief of the elf. These delicate descriptions, like light essays, quietly convey the innocent and simple happiness and emotions of children to the audience, and outline the pure innocence and humorous innocence lightly. Looking at their cute figures, the audience couldn't help but smile.
2. Clever use of off-screen space After Pierre got on the tram, the balloon floated into the air outside the screen. At this time, everyone in the car raised their heads curiously and looked at this magical red balloon, which attracted the audience to follow the audience's gaze. Looking up, wondering where the balloon is, wondering if it will go with the tram. When the balloon reappeared, following the tram, the audience was met with the expected satisfaction. This process enables the audience to gradually develop a love and reluctance for balloons, and enter his inner world through the same mood as Pierre. Emotional resonance sometimes doesn't require words. And this kind of technique that hints inside the painting and outside the painting, arousing the curiosity of the audience is also often used in this film.
3. The suggestive effect of the composition Pierre was chased by the boys, and in the shot of escaping on a narrow path, the director chose the location in a small street like a labyrinth, and showed the process of chasing and fleeing for a long time , the streets are getting narrower. In this way, the director brought the audience a sense of depression and concern for Pierre through the camera, expressing his tense and cramped emotions, suggesting that Pierre gradually got into trouble, and finally had nowhere to go and was caught. At last, Pierre ran to an open field, when other children rushed towards him from all directions, forming a siege. This is reminiscent of the war scene, where the enemy is surrounded on all sides. The director put this kind of character relationship here to let the audience understand that Pierre has nowhere to go, and invisibly divide Pierre and other children into two camps of justice and evil, conveying sympathy for Pierre, Worry about his dying red balloon, and anger at the rude behavior of other kids grabbing the balloon. In addition, it is very important that in order to make the red balloon always attract the attention of the audience, the director adopted the classic technique in film shooting, that is, the red balloon is always in the position near the golden section point in the picture.
4. Contrast effect of color The overall tone of the film is grayish, and the red balloons appear extra red and large under the wet and cloudy background. The director deliberately made the balloon much larger than the average balloon, and the color was very bright. It seemed that he wanted to use a strong red to symbolize the innocent childlike innocence of a little boy, which contrasted sharply with the cool blue-gray adult world around him. In addition, the teacher who put Pierre in confinement, the contrast between the serious and stiff expression and Pierre's innocent and simple expression, as well as the contrast between the gloomy weather at the beginning of the film and the clear sky at the end, all convey the author's emotions without words. tendency.
5. Talking with the camera The long shot is a major feature of this film. Pierre runs to school because he can't take the bus, attracting the attention of pedestrians along the way. In this long shot, the camera is always in front of him, moving forward with him. Pierre's inability to escape the picture and the shaking of the camera all give the viewer a sense of anxiety, reflecting the anxiety of the child. Most of the time in the whole movie, the camera keeps a certain distance from the protagonist, as if a calm bystander, standing on the same position as the audience, objectively recording and watching, allowing the children to express their feelings with the balloon, In addition to showing the expression of the child, there are very few push shots and close-ups. Whether it is the two long shots of the child discovering the red balloon at the beginning, or the balloon evading the teacher in and out of the classroom at school, or the scene where the child and the balloon play with each other, the delicate and elegant emotions conveyed by the film through the long shots have also been completed. The accumulation of emotions makes the whole film as smooth as water, quiet and warm, and it is naughty and wonderful in plainness.
6. The coordination and rendering of music The film is like a silent film, with almost no monologue, giving full play to the role of music in coordinating the development of the plot and setting off emotions. For example, Pierre hid in the corner and waited for the balloon. When the balloon flew towards the corner, the music gradually slowed down and became strange. When the child grabbed the balloon, the music suddenly appeared strong, expressing the child's happiness and pride. The red balloon was attracted by the blue balloon, and couldn't help but follow the past. The main melody of the music was expressed in the tone of the music box, with a romantic and lyrical mood. And as a group of kids prepare to steal balloons, the music drops, with dissonant chords heralding danger.
7. Excellent performance by young actors The protagonist in the movie is the director's son, a French child who is a bit clumsy, very cute, simple, simple and persistent. The eulogy of happy childhood is recognized and resonated by the audience. Just think, if the movie chose a serious or sophisticated child, it would feel very awkward. Or the child's acting skills are very obvious and artificial, which will also make this childish fun become rigid and false. Pierre in the movie is a lonely child, so the company of the red balloon and their mutual feelings are more precious and touching. Pierre's loneliness is mainly expressed through his quiet and somewhat sad expression, his almost no simple language, and his loneliness, always without company.
8. The fairy-tale plot design is that the hit balloons die little by little in the silent shots, and all the surrounding noise suddenly disappears. In the silence, the balloons were quietly shrinking, crumpling, and slowly descending, a way of dealing with anger, loss, and feeling overwhelmed more strongly than any sad music, or the sad face of a child. When the balloon was about to fall to the ground, and the audience was waiting for an equally slow and soft "death", a pair of small feet suddenly appeared and crushed the balloon. The balloon really died, and in such a sad and tragic way. The innocence represented by the balloon is shattered by the destruction of the children. At this time, the audience may think that the story will end in tragedy at the moment. But then, all the balloons began to fly in one direction. The colorful balloons twined in the clear sky towards Pierre, the poor little boy. Finally, in the long-range shot, under the vast sky, the child rides a balloon and floats into the distance. This irrational fantasy design is childlike thinking. Showing a sense of childlike innocence. And the audience finally got emotional satisfaction. Like Pierre, with the childlike innocence in the movie, he flew to the distant horizon with him. It is also flying on a balloon. The balloons in "Flying Around the House" are just the carrier of the house flight, and the balloons here are more beautiful symbols of dreams and innocence. Here, the director is not only attacking from the opposite side of the adult society, but like a child, he really pays attention to the childlike innocence and realizes the sublimation of emotion.
9. Realistic? fantasy? The overall style of the film is based on realism, which is natural and smooth, without pretense, making such a fairy tale-like story even more real. The next morning came, the shopkeeper propped up the door in front of the window, the postman came to deliver the letter, and the workers hawked on the road. As Pierre roams around Paris with a balloon, the background shows a poetically beautiful Paris full of life. And the red balloon follows Pierre in the air, and it is peculiar that it does not need to be held by a rope, which attracts the attention of passers-by and makes this fantasy more real, making people wonder if this is a real story or the director Crazy fantasy. And this sense of reality makes people hope that such a magical and lovely red balloon really exists, decorating our pale childhood with color. The highlight of this film is: First of all, it doesn't need words to convey feelings; it doesn't need laughter to bring joy. What the director says and thinks, and what the audience feels and understands, are all assembled and completed through the lens. Like this year's Oscar-winning film "The Artist", "Red Balloon" lost the expressive power of language, but instead gave the lens itself more room to display. Far from the realism of language, we can also more deeply appreciate the interaction between the reality in the lens and the reality outside the lens, and the magical experience brought to the viewer. Secondly, the director's way of expressing childlike interest is unique and profound. The red balloon in the shot is the director's expression and thinking about the childlike innocence and innocence in the real world outside the shot. Balloons are something that every child likes, and the lively red balloons in the movie symbolize the desire and fantasy of freedom and flying in childhood. The red balloon in the film is not only a balloon, but also a good friend with life and feelings. But at the same time, the director wanted to express more than that. The world of the child is indeed threatened and violated all the time by the adult world and the evil side of human nature, just as the balloon that accompanied Pierre was rejected by his grandmother and teacher, and was finally broken, which makes our pure innocence hit and miss. Hurt, so that we are no longer simply happy children. But the director is not negative and pessimistic. In his opinion, although this kind of darkness will appear temporarily, it will eventually be dispelled by kindness and beauty, just like the love of the colorful balloons for children at the end of the film review.
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