Red Balloon is a 1956 fantasy short film written and directed by French director Albert Ramorès, starring Pascal Ramolis. The film won the Palme d'Or for Short Films at the 9th Cannes Film Festival, the Best Original Screenplay at the 29th Academy Awards, the Special Award at the 10th British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, and a high score of 8.8 on Douban, making it a masterpiece full of honors and excellent reputation.
The film mainly tells a lonely and thin little boy, on the way to school saw a red balloon hanging on the street lamp, the little boy climbed on the street lamp and took down the red balloon, since then the red balloon and the little boy as a companion, whether it is school or play, the red balloon has been closely following the little boy, so that the little boy is no longer alone.
However, the red balloon was driven away by the little boy's principal, parents, and classmates, and even so the little boy had always been inseparable from the red balloon and protected him with his own weak strength, but unfortunately the red balloon was damaged by other children, and when the little boy was heartbroken, all the balloons in the city came to his side and flew to the sky with him.
The whole film is only 34 minutes long, and the story is very simple, but it contains rich meaning. The "Red Balloon" as a prop with a strong symbolic meaning has been running through the film, conveying a positive and optimistic attitude to life to the audience: hope will appear around the corner. This article will interpret this film from the application of color, the art of detail, and the language of the lens.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, the use of color to restore the objective world, the expression of thematic ideas</h1>
Color is the most infectious visual language, the film uses color Montage, gray, black, red, blue and other colors cross-grouped, to express different meanings, deepen the theme of the film, for the film to add a layer of fantastic color.
1. Gray tone, explain the background of the story, and reveal the objective environment
Gray-black houses, cyan bricks, black cars, gray-black clothes, from the external environment to the people's daily necessities are gray, giving people a depressing atmosphere and triggering the audience to think.
The film uses three shades of gray, black and cyan to explain the background of the story and restore the social environment at that time. The color of the film combined with the era of the film's release, we can have a little understanding of the social situation in France at that time, in 1956 France was still in a situation of internal and external troubles, turmoil, everything is in a stage of waste to be rebuilt.
2, red, to create emotional mood, express symbolic meaning
Red runs through the film, and the film is named after the "red balloon", symbolizing hope, bravery, passion and tenacity. Bright red balloons are used to light up the beauty in people's hearts, bring vitality and confidence to moviegoers, and create a positive optimism.
This red color survives in the gray tone environment, giving people a strong visual contrast, the appearance of the red balloon seems to break some kind of depression, is a kind of emotional release and display, is the current people's positive thoughts and optimistic spirit of the performance.
3. Color, refracting the inner world of the film director and revealing the theme of the film
Colorful balloons flew towards the little boy, who grabbed the balloon and flew into the sky. At the end of the film, the director ends in color, expressing the director's romantic thoughts, revealing the director's desire for a colorful world, and when the balloon rises, it is also a beautiful expectation that hope is coming.
Hope is an oasis in the desert sand sea, indicating new life; hope is a bright light in the vast waves, guiding the way forward; hope is the engine of life, continuously transporting energy; hope is a tough crutch in times of difficulty, an inspiring piece of music when sad, and an uplifting tonic in despair;
Ending with surreal color expression reveals the theme of the film, representing the current people's desire for beauty, freedom and hope for the future in the repressive reality.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, the detail art portrays the character image and promotes the development of the storyline</h1>
Film is the art of details, the success or failure of the film is determined by the details, with the passage of time, the audience may forget the plot of the film, but will remember the representative details, the details of the film to show the theme of the film to the fullest.
1. Action details, performance of character personality, shaping character image
The little boy carefully climbed up the railing to take down the red balloon, communicated with it every time he released it, and always looked back at the red balloon, these movements can be seen that the little boy is meticulous and treats the balloon as a friend.
In the process of acquaintance and getting along with the little boy and the red balloon, there are many detailed actions, which vividly show the psychological activities of the little boy, which expresses the character of the little boy and shapes his innocent and kind character image.
2. Scene details, rendering atmosphere, setting off the theme
Dark brown school gates, black and white flags fluttering in the wind, students dressed in red, blue balloons, brown street shops, after the little boy has a red balloon, the atmosphere becomes much more relaxed, stimulating the curiosity of the audience, but also igniting the hope in the hearts of the audience, the sense of substitution is very strong.
The tone of the whole film is mainly gray, but after the little boy encounters the red balloon, the color of the film increases, the tone of the whole film becomes joyful and relaxed, the role of the red balloon brings happiness and beauty is highlighted, and the symbolic meaning of its representative of hope and vitality is also set off.
3. Details of objects, revealing the changes in the fate of the characters and promoting the development of the storyline
Bread, which appears three times in the second half of the film, is an important object in the twist of the story.
The first time was when the little boy threw off the bear children who wanted to snatch the red balloon, and its appearance made the little boy forget the danger. At this point, bread is a "primer", suggesting that the disaster of the red balloon is about to begin;
The second time was when several bear children stood in front of the window staring at the bread, echoing the little boy standing in front of the window looking at the bread, leading to contradictions and conflicts.
The third time was when the little boy went into the bakery to buy a loaf of bread and happily ate the bread and walked out, and the bread in the little boy's hand now replaced the red balloon in his hand, hinting at the fate of the red balloon.
This object is a fuse of the plot conflict, a flashpoint in the conflict between the plot development and the relationship between the characters, this humble small object to determine the fate of the red balloon, adding some dramatic effects to the film.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, use the lens language to exert artistic charm and trigger emotional resonance</h1>
Film is the art of vision and hearing, the weakening of the language of the characters in the film, the strengthening of the surface effect of the lens language, the director skillfully uses the lens language, combines the authenticity of the character environment with the absurdity of the story, brings a shocking visual feast to the audience, makes the audience immersed in it, and triggers emotional resonance.
1. Panoramic lens, explain the environment, render the overall atmosphere
In the gloomy sky, the gray building, a little boy appears in the camera, he stays in the middle of the picture for a while, playing with the dog, and then he walks down the stairs, and when he walks down the stairs, he sees a red balloon hanging on the pole, and the little boy carefully climbs the pole to take the red balloon, and the story begins.
Immediately after, the director places the little boy in the gray tone of the street scene and the panoramic view of the building, the little boy runs to the school with a balloon, through the shot of the child running in a heavy environment, puts the characters in the environment, explains the background of the story, restores the social environment of Paris in 1956, sets off a tragic atmosphere, resonates with the audience, and mobilizes the audience's emotions.
2. Medium shot, showing the relationship between the characters and expressing the emotions of the characters
After the little boy finished school, the sky began to rain, the little boy without an umbrella, in order not to let the red balloon rain, on the way home has been looking for strangers to rub the umbrella, for the red balloon umbrella are: the old man with crutches, the elegant and beautiful lady, the devout nun, the man in the khaki robe, the director uses several sets of shots to record the little boy and their bits.
In addition to showing the harmonious and friendly relationship between strangers, this group of shots also expresses people's fiery emotions, longing and yearning for beauty in a tragic environment, adding warm colors to the whole film, and also showing the meaning of hope in the corner.
3. Close-up shots to mobilize the audience's emotions and resonate with the audience
The director uses two close-up shots to express, the transition from great sorrow to great joy, to express the theme of the film: no matter what kind of adversity you are in, hope will always appear.
The first close-up shot: The red balloon is hit by a bear child, slowly breathing out of a bulging balloon. The director uses close-up shots to record the process of the red balloon being destroyed and the air full of flow, so that the audience has a feeling of immersion and empathy, which makes people depressed and sad.
This shot is a turning point in the whole film, pushing the atmosphere of the whole film to a sad peak, completely mobilizing the audience's emotions, and paving the way for the story to turn.
The second close-up shot: After the red balloon was destroyed, all the balloons in the city flew up and flew to the little boy's side, at this time, the director once again used a close-up shot to record the change in the expression of the little boy when he was in a colorful balloon, so that the overall atmosphere of the film became suddenly cheerful.
Through these two close-up shots, the film reflects the emotional changes of the two protagonists in the play, allowing the audience to feel their stories and emotions, feel their sadness and joy, and appreciate the theme of hope around the corner between the ups and downs.
The conductor would not let the little boy get on the bus, and he would run to the school with the red balloon; the long-timer closed the little boy in the small black house, and the red balloon followed the principal; the mother lost the red balloon, and as a result, it never went outside the window; the bear children destroyed the red balloon, and the balloons of the whole city came to him to comfort him;
The experience of the little boy and the red balloon reflects the difficulties and twists and turns that people will encounter in their lives, and the director conveys a positive and optimistic attitude towards life to the audience through this story: no matter what difficulties you encounter, don't give up lightly, hope is at the corner.