Flight of the Red Balloon 2008

Suzanne is a talented puppeteer who lives in a charming Parisian apartment with her young son Simon. As she dedicates herself to creating a new Chinese puppet play inspired by an ancient text (求妻煮海人), she enlists the help of a Chinese film student named Song to be Simon’s nanny. In a creative endeavor that pays tribute to Albert Lamorisse’s acclaimed 1956 film The Red Balloon, Song embarks on a project to document Simon’s life through film. Over time, she cultivates a warm relationship with both Suzanne and Simon, stepping in as a translator for a masterclass featuring a renowned Chinese puppet master.

Simultaneously, Simon’s older sister Louise is on the brink of graduating high school in Brussels, and Suzanne has ambitions for her to apply to colleges in Paris. To facilitate this, she attempts to evict her downstairs tenant, Marc, who has persistently neglected his rent payments. Meanwhile, Suzanne finds herself frequently engaged in tense phone conversations with Pierre, Simon’s father, who has distanced himself by traveling to Canada for two years to focus on writing a novel and has become increasingly out of touch.

Simon enjoys a school trip to the Musée d’Orsay, where he encounters the captivating painting The Ball by Félix Vallotton, which depicts a child joyfully chasing a red ball, an image that resonates deeply with his youthful dreams and the vibrancy of childhood.