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The Black Balloon
Normal is relative.
Normal is relative.
Drama - 2008
The Black Balloon
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Thomas is turning 16. His dad's in the army and they've just moved to a town in New South Wales; his mom is pregnant; his older brother, Charlie, who's autistic, has his own adolescent sexual issues. Thomas finds Charlie an embarrassment in public, so when Thomas is attracted to Jackie, a girl in his swim class, Charlie presents any number of obstacles when she drops by their house, when the three of them go for a walk, and during a family birthday dinner. Can Thomas find a way to enter the world of teen romance and still be his brother's keeper, or is Charlie's disability going to prove more than Thomas can handle?
Director:
,
Elissa Down
Cast:
,
Toni Collette
,
Rhys Wakefield
,
Luke Ford
,
Gemma Ward
,
Anthony Phelan
,
Erik Thomson
,
Sam Fraser
,
Sarah Woods
,
Zelie Bullen
,
Deborah Piper

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Details

Runtime:
97 min
Release date:
8 Mar 2008
Country:
AU, US
Languages:
English
Budget:
$5,000,000
Revenue:
$5,000,000
Awards:
18 wins & 24 nominations total

Top Critics Reviews

fresh:
Thomas and Jackie's friendship, blossoming into a chaste romance, is the dramatic engine that powers The Black Balloon, but it's far from the most important relationship in the film.
– Michael O'Sullivan,
Washington Post,
1 May 2009
fresh:
The film's vision is neither a grim wallow nor falsely cheerful. It's compassionate but unblinking, and in the end we can't help but admire the genuine strength of how its characters accept their special challenge.
– Walter V. Addiego,
San Francisco Chronicle,
17 Apr 2009
fresh:
At its sharpest Elissa Down's feature directorial debut is guided by intense, rough-edged emotional swings that feel authentically alive, even when the script settles for tidiness.
– Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Apr 2009
fresh:
The Black Balloon establishes this family with a delicate mixture of tenderness and pain.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
10 Apr 2009
fresh:
There are wrenching scenes that are brutally stark, yet there remains a steady sense of calm that is touching and sensitive without ever turning sentimental.
– Ted Fry,
Seattle Times,
2 Apr 2009
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