75/365 The Black Balloon

Starring: Toni Collette, Rhys Wakefield, Gemma Ward, Luke Ford, Erik Thomson

Genre: Drama

Discovery: I saw the cover art (which is different than the one above) & immediately had a feeling it would be a special movie.

Summary: A coming of age tale set in the early 90′s about Thomas and his brother, Charlie (who has autism).  Thomas starts a new school where he experiences some of the prejudices people have against Charlie  and his own feelings of alienation. His parents  are loving but overcome with the responsibilities that is involved with taking care of Charlie.  Soon Thomas meets Jackie (Gemma Ward) who shows him friendship and true kindness.  A misunderstanding leads to a showdown between the brothers but also the eventual healing between them.

First Glance: Can Toni Collette ever do wrong?  I don’t think so.  Even though she wasn’t the main character, her touching portrayal of harried, loving mom was so fab.  I gush!  In fact, every single actor brought top caliber performances that had me 100% in the story.  Once it started, I was ‘in’ this film.  The DP created beautifully intimate moments of family life.  It felt domestic & real.

Deeper Look: I could go on for days about what I loved:  The relationship dynamics in a loving but challenged family.  A young man struggling to find his place in the world.  First love.  Dealing with a family member with some special needs.  Moving to a new place.  The one element that impacted me the most was: Thomas feeling second fiddle within his family because they had to focus so much on Charlie.  It was heartbreaking to see that struggle.  I’ve felt that way myself in my own family (my brother has some serious challenges in his life).  It made me cry, I won’t hide that.  Delicately balanced in was the Aussie sense-of-humor.  It continues to rock my world; it’s irreverent & not too broad. This movie interweaves ideas seamlessly.  I could not ask for a more unaffected, complex view of youth. PERFECTION.

**Thank you Alissa (the writer/director) for creating such a film.  It was a pleasure to watch.

What I Took Away from this Movie: 1) Love is a powerful force.  2)  Unconditional acceptance is a necessary part of love.

Final Glimpse: Stop the presses!! This movie is the exact reason I love film so much. Please see as soon as you can.  You will be thrilled you did.