The Red Balloon

As a child I saw “Le Ballon rouge” (1956), by Albert Lamorisse and just fell in love with the story. It is a short film about a small boy in the Parisian neighborhood of Menilmontant, who gets a magic balloon that follows him everywhere. The small boy is a dreamer and free within his imagination. He encounters bullies who literally puncture his dreams and happiness. It’s a message that can resonate within us all. The film ends with all the other Parisian balloons coming to his rescue.

It is one of those films that I watched as a child that somehow still holds my fascination as an adult. I’ve found that this is not true with all films I held in high regard as a child. Some things are better left in our untarnished childhood memories, but this is not the case with the red balloon.

That film will forever be magical and inspiring to me. I have often incorporated the red balloon into my personal designs. The connotation behind the red balloon makes those pieces special to me.

Do you have anything that you tend to gravitate towards artistically?

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