The film tells the story of Song, a Chinese girl studying film in France, working part-time as a nanny at Susanna's house, taking care of the little boy Simon, and the interactions and stories between this pair of single mother and son. (The plot is a little long-winded, people have a bad memory when they get old. Song became a good friend of the little boy. Every day she brought a camera to record her life. She also collaborated with Simon to film the short film "The Journey of the Red Balloon". Susanna is a puppet Theatrical artist, born in this traditional drama family, she also has an eldest daughter, Louis, who is studying in high school in Brussels and was originally going to study in Paris, but when she divorced her husband Pierre two years ago, Louis and Pierre Leaving Paris together. It is probably difficult for two people who focus on art to live together. The reason for Pierre's divorce is that he wants to write a novel, run away from his family, and drift to Montreal. This is a very difficult life for mother and daughter. In addition, Pierre's friend Mark, who lives downstairs, has been in arrears with the rent for a long time, which has brought a lot of troubles to Susanna's life, and her eagerness for her daughter to go back to Paris to go to school has also been diluted by her plan. In the tedious daily life of a female artist, she has always moved forward strongly and adjusted, whether it is career or family, the lonely Simon is also growing up, learning and playing obediently, while cherishing the strong family affection.)
The opening chapter is a little boy who calls for a balloon. If he can't, the boy walks off the subway station, and the balloon travels around the city to the platform.
Various shots of the balloon anthropomorphically present this object. In the process of drifting the city, it passed the bustling crowds and traffic, but no one found it, only a lonely little boy was silently photographing it, which made me I can't help but think of the meeting between the little boy in "Under the Berlin Sky" and the angel on the roof. Walking through the modern city, they all become wanderers and wanderers full of aura with a naive and free temperament. At the beginning of the meeting and farewell of the little boy and the red balloon, the boy rode away on the train, just like the oil painting in the pavilion at the end, the child chasing the red balloon lost while running, half bright and half sad. The two scenes echo each other, reminding me of the song in Pu Shu's "Journey" where the child loses his beloved balloon. This is probably the taste of growing up, those innocence, those dreams, those warm memories are destined to go away.
But going away is not lost. Memories will not be diluted because they are remembered. People can also act to awaken some precious emotions. For example, Susanna re-converted the images of her grandfather and daughter into CDs, Susanna kept postcards related to Chinese cultural memory for many years, and Simon also relived the company of his father and sister alone in the playground and pinball games. never go far.
The red balloon has never gone away. It has visited Simon many times. By the window, in the attic, and above the exhibition hall, it warms the children with ideals and soft hearts in the world, as well as big children.
Song Xiang's film "The Journey of the Red Balloon" was realized through technology. The image of Simon in green clothes holding a red balloon can be erased through color processing, leaving only the red balloon, realizing the "object narrative". The language expression of creativity seems to be a metaphor for the survival of people in the era of technology supremacy.
This movie is said to be a tribute to the French movie "Red Balloon", and it was also mentioned by Song in the movie. I haven't looked at it for a while.
Puppetry:
Judging from the performance form of the puppet show, people hide behind the puppets, dubbing is needed, and sometimes women have to become men. The puppet show from China was invited by Susanna to perform in France, and recreated the ancient "Zhang Sheng Boils the Sea". This is a cross-cultural mutual reading. Ineffective communication, especially in Susanna's shattered family, on the other hand human beings can understand each other artistically and emotionally, without barriers. After the performance, I was deeply impressed by the scene of Susanna, the Chinese puppet show artist and Song three people on the train: the light and shadow outside the window changed, as if to tell the warm, warm and difficult years that the puppet show has passed through from ancient times to the present. The sunlight outside the window shines on Susanna for a long time, leaning against the glass, she has already fallen into the light and shadow tunnel of memory.
"Zhang Sheng Boils the Sea" raises the pursuit of love, courage and hope, and has a heroism that sees through life but still loves it. This is also Susanna's personality, and the dream of play is life.
Urban space and living conditions:
Glass and mirrors, shop windows and car windows, these illusory reflections and changing landscapes are all typical landscapes of urban space. On the one hand, they constitute the typical rhythm of high-speed traffic, and on the other hand, they visualize the disciplined time.
The graffitied red balloons on the wall and the red balloons floating in the space touch each other. The boy is accompanied by his own reflection on the glass. In the modern city of mechanical reproduction, under the appearance of pairs and clusters, he is still a lonely individual.
Although the mirror image is a virtual image, it is the reproduction of the real emotional space of people. For example, in his memory, Louis took Simon to listen to the song "Take Me Away". The large mirror on the side only reflected the head of the lonely little boy. The long shot constantly emphasized this psychological externalization and hint to the audience - the upcoming It's a day of growing up alone.
View more about Flight of the Red Balloon reviews
