CNS Movie Review: The Black Balloon

The Black Balloon

By Harry Forbes
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- "The Black Balloon" (NeoClassics) is a moving Australian film about sweet-natured 15-year-old Thomas Mollinson (Rhys Wakefield), who must settle into the latest in a series of neighborhoods when his father, Simon (Erik Thomson), an army officer, is reassigned to Sydney.

Mother Maggie (Toni Collette) is well along in pregnancy, and when her doctor insists on complete bed rest in the hospital, Thomas is left to care for his autistic older brother, Charlie (Luke Ward), who uses sign language but chooses not to speak.

Despite Charlie's seriously disruptive behavior, the family unequivocally accepts him as part of the chaotic household, as Simon resolutely declares his belief in looking after one's own.

Charlie's capers -- not in any way romanticized, as they might be in a Hollywood film of this type -- include racing through the town wearing nothing but his briefs, using the bathroom in strangers' homes, throwing tantrums in public places and even smearing his "poo," as he calls it, on the floor of his room.

Thomas is cruelly teased at school and at swimming lessons by the other boys because of Charlie. But pretty classmate Jackie (Gemma Ward) takes a shine to him and a refreshingly nonjudgmental attitude toward Charlie, even after, at their first meeting, he innocently steals a tampon from her satchel and childishly skips off with it.

Charlie's antics -- as portrayed most convincingly by Ford -- are fairly irritating, but by the film's heartwarming ending, which incidentally includes a Noah's Ark pageant, you feel as protective of him as his family does.

First-time feature director and co-writer Elissa Down's semiautobiographical story (Down has two autistic brothers) is well-acted, with Collette and Thomson completely natural as earthy but caring parents, the latter comically driven to seek counsel from the family's teddy bear. And Wakefield and Ward are sweetly sympathetic as teens whose romance never goes beyond the platonic.

Down's script (written with a filmmaker called Jimmy the Exploder) conveys a strong pro-family message and, obviously, a highly compassionate view of the disabled.

The positive themes -- most especially Thomas' ultimate acceptance of his brother and rejection of all those resentments that have fitfully come to the surface -- will be most worthwhile for mature teens, despite some of the following elements, brief though they are.

The film contains some crass expressions, brief domestic violence, a few expletives including a single use of profanity and of the F-word, mild sexual elements with innuendo and a birth control reference, and some scatological elements; acceptable for older teens. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.

END

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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