''The Black Balloon'' is a 2008

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

comedy-drama film starring

Toni Collette Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, inclu ...

, Rhys Wakefield,

Luke Ford Luke Ford (born 26 March 1981) is a Canadian-Australian actor. His career began in television in 2000 and his first film role was in 2006 before being cast in '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' in 2008. Ford's regular television roles ...

Erik Thomson Erik Thomson is a Scottish-born New Zealand-Australian actor. He is known for playing Hades in the television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', ''Xena Warrior Princess'' and '' Young Hercules'', Dr. Mitch Stevens in '' All Saints'' a ...

Gemma Ward Gemma Louise Ward is an Australian model and actress. Born in Perth, Western Australia, Ward was first scouted at the age of 14, and made her Australian Fashion Week debut aged 15. She later became the youngest model to appear on the cover of th ...

as well as a cast of newcomers. It is directed by first-time feature film director,

Elissa Down Elissa Down is an Australian filmmaker, who in 1999 and 2000, was nominated for Young Film-maker of the year at the WA Screen Awards. Her major works are a number of award-winning short films, ''Summer Angst'', ''The Cherry Orchard'', ''Her Ou ...

. The film was released in Australian cinemas on 6 March 2008. The world premiere was at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

in Germany in February 2008, where the film received a

Crystal Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fes ...

as the best feature-length film in the Generation 14plus category.

Plot

Thomas Mollison ( Rhys Wakefield) and his family move to a new home in the early 1990s. It begins with Charlie, his autistic brother, banging a wooden spoon on the grass with neighbours staring and pointing. Then, it cuts to the house where there are locks on the drawers and Maggie, their mother, locking star-shaped stickers in her bathroom cabinet. Thomas is anxious because he has to start at a new school, and make new friends. All he wants to do is fit in and be regarded in the same way as everyone else. However, it seems he struggles to achieve this goal. Although his family appears to be a fairly happy one, Thomas often feels isolated; it seems as if his mother only dotes upon his brother, Charlie (

), and does not pay any attention to him. However, Thomas is devoted to his brother and shows affection for him. Charlie is Thomas's older brother who lives with severe autism, as well as

attention deficit disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

. Charlie enjoys dressing up like a monkey, playing computer games using a

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and receiving gold stars for good behaviour. Charlie communicates with the rest of his family by using

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

. When their heavily

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

mother, Maggie (

), must take a rest owing to a recommendation by her doctor as a consequence of Maggie's

high blood pressure Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

, Thomas is put in charge of Charlie. Thomas finds this task difficult and onerous. For example, when Charlie flees from the house in a high-spirited mood, Thomas runs after him to ensure the safety of his brother, but he cannot keep up with Charlie. Matters become even more problematic when Charlie expresses the urge to go to the bathroom and enters the nearest house to use the

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...

. When he does so, the brothers encounter Jackie (

) who is taking a shower. The fact that both brothers are only wearing their

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

is a source of severe embarrassment for Thomas. Jackie exhibits her interest in Thomas when she attends a

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

class at school and visits Thomas at his home to return Charlie's monkey hat that he accidentally left behind when he used Jackie's toilet. Thomas's first response is to ensure that his brother is hidden away from Jackie. However, Maggie is less than thrilled when she discovers that Thomas has locked Charlie in his bedroom. She then sees Charlie proceeding to rub his own

faeces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

into the carpet. After Maggie attempts to clean up the floor, (despite being ordered to stay in bed) Thomas becomes frustrated and tells Maggie that Charlie is her responsibility and she slaps him after he calls him a freak. Maggie replies that Charlie will never be able to have a job, nor a family and he will be unable to look after himself. He will be more likely to remain living with his parents for the rest of his life. This latest episode proves too much for Maggie. Her husband, Simon, insists that she spend the rest of her pregnancy in the

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

instead, leaving Thomas to become the primary caregiver for Charlie. Thomas begins to enter into Charlie's world when he rides the school bus for children with various

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...

with his brother. In addition, Thomas is seen dealing with Charlie, who has a

meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * Me ...

due to Simon not buying some more items at a local

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

since he does not have enough money. This again causes severe embarrassment for Thomas. That same evening when the trio return from the supermarket, Thomas, who was annoyed by the meltdown, rips up Charlie's star chart. This causes things to become worse when the brothers fight and Charlie throws a stool through the window. The next day, when Thomas attends his swimming class, Jackie wears Charlie's monkey ears, which pleases and amuses him. When Jackie meets Charlie, she makes a concerted effort to know and understand him, as well as to use Sign Language as a means by which to communicate with him. Thomas and his father both endeavour to care for Charlie together. Simon tells Thomas that his mother is grateful to have Charlie as a child because she feels that the family is strong enough to be able to look after him. Representatives from Youth and Community Services visit the house and state that they have received multiple complaints about Charlie. Simon is furious at his neighbour whom he attributes responsibility for the invasive visit. Thomas also displays his loyalty to his brother. Charlie accompanies Jackie and Thomas to swim in a river. When it rains, they all shelter in a nearby drainpipe where Jackie and Thomas share their first kiss. When the boys arrive home, there is a note taped to the television which states that Maggie has given birth to a girl. When Thomas sees Charlie at his school, Charlie becomes the victim of malicious taunting and harassment. Jackie tells Thomas that he needs to quit wishing that Charlie was "normal." Tensions flare when Jackie eats a

roast dinner A Sunday roast or roast dinner is a traditional meal of British and Irish origin. Although it can be consumed throughout the week, it is traditionally consumed on Sunday. It consists of roasted meat, roasted potatoes and accompaniments s ...

with the family in order to celebrate Thomas's sixteenth birthday. Jackie wonders whether or not Charlie will ever speak again. Thomas is confident that Charlie will if everyone will stop communicating with him using Sign Language. After Thomas blows out the candles on his cake, Charlie begins

masturbating Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinati ...

at the table, causing Jackie to become extremely uncomfortable. In response, Thomas becomes irate and in anger, smashes Charlie's

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

console (which Charlie had earned for getting enough stars on his good behavior chart earlier), leading to a fight between the brothers. After a frightening physical altercation between the two brothers, Maggie exhibits sympathy for both of her sons. In spite of his mother's commiseration, Thomas still feels as if he behaved badly, while Jackie comforts him by kissing his forearm, indicating she loves him nonetheless. In the morning, Thomas joins Charlie in his morning activity: sitting in the backyard while banging a wooden spoon on the ground. He then learns how to drive with his dad, and picks up an ecstatic Jackie with his new car. The family and Jackie attend a musical production in Charlie's special school entitled "Animals Afloat," (a musical based on Noah's Ark) in which he portrays a monkey. After Charlie's theatrical partner, Russell, has a meltdown on stage and has a falling out with Charlie backstage, Thomas decides to fill in for Russell so that Charlie doesn't have to go on stage alone, and the brothers both don monkey costumes and give an outstanding performance. The brothers celebrate their success by taking a

bubble bath A bubble bath is a filled bathtub with a layer of surfactant foam on the surface of the water and consequently also the surfactant product used to produce the foam or soap. Less commonly, aerated or carbonated baths are called ''bubble baths''. ...

together. Thomas confesses to his brother that when he was little, he used to fall asleep at night, wishing that Charlie would be normal. Charlie looks thoughtful. The film concludes with Thomas laughing and asking Charlie, "You just pissed on my leg, didn't you?" The brothers then share a laugh together.

Cast

* Rhys Wakefield as Thomas Mollison *

as Charlie Mollison *

as Maggie Mollison *

as Simon Mollison *

as Jackie Masters * Lloyd Allison-Young as James * Nathin Butler as Chris * Lisa Kowalski as Sally *

Firass Dirani Firass Dirani (born 1984) is an Australian film and television actor. Early life Dirani was born in Sydney in 1984, and is of Lebanese descent. Career Dirani pursued his acting career in Hollywood before receiving a call to play the role o ...

as Russell * Sarah Woods as Janet * Kieran Smith as Elephant No. 2 * Ryan Clark as Dean The ''Animals Afloat!'' segment was cast from a group of teens and young adults whose lives are affected by autism and

Asperger's Syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behav ...

. Some of the Afloat! cast have high-functioning autism themselves, others were their siblings. This reflected the "two by two" nature of the Noah's Ark theme as well as continued the theme of siblings working together and loving one another.

Reception

''The Black Balloon'' was reviewed on '' At the Movies'', with

Margaret Pomeranz Margaret Pomeranz (born 14 July 1944) is an Australian film critic, writer, producer and television personality. Early life Pomeranz was born Margeret Anne Jones-Owen on 14 July 1944 in Waverley, a suburb of Sydney. She was educated at the P ...

, giving it four out of five stars, hailing it as ‘such a strong film.’ She praised the acting of the principal cast, saying that the ‘role of Thomas is a knife-edge one, it could so easily be made unsympathetic, but Rhys Wakefield makes us empathise with Thomas’s agonies, and

makes Charlie both loveable and exasperating, another big achievement. But towering over the film is the performance of

, she is just so good in every role she takes on, and

gives solid support as Simon. Model turned actress

steps up to the plate. … It’s a very auspicious debut’ for director

. Co-presenter

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

agreed, giving the film four-and-a-half stars, and added that ‘it's so beautifully played. … Gemma Ward is wonderful too. … er characterJackie's such a generous, sympathetic person who embraces her boyfriend's brother as well as the boyfriend.’

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

felt that the film’s strengths lay in the structure of the piece as well as its central characters and casting. ‘''The Black Balloon'' establishes this family with a delicate mixture of tenderness and pain. … The story elements … could have been manipulated to make the film false and cute. … The uplift comes in how the family, and Jackie, respond to Charlie. Maggie and Simon are strongly bonded in a marriage that has survived Charlie. They have no time for nobility; they are focused on doing what needs to be done. … It is Jackie who turns out to be special. … Gemma Ward, who plays her, … creates a spontaneously warm young woman. … Luke Ford's performance as Charlie is a convincing tour de force. … Rhys Wakefield, in his first feature role, is a good casting decision, suggesting inner turmoil without overacting. But it is Toni Collette who explains, without even seeming to try, why this family is still together at all.’ Overall, the film received positive reviews. The first weekend of release saw ''The Black Balloon'' at number 10 on the Australian box office with an intake of $500,000.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported that, based on 42 reviews, 88% of them were positive.

Awards

On 11 November 2008, ''The Black Balloon'' won the Best Children’s Feature Film award in the 2008

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures th ...

. The award was accepted by Producer Tristram Miall and Director/Writer/Co-Producer Elissa Down. Since then, ''The Black Balloon'' has received numerous awards (and nominations) in Australia and at Film Festivals around the world:

Box office

'' The Black Balloon '' grossed $2,265,689 at the box office in Australia.

Filming locations

Production wrapped up in 2007 (the year of its copyright notice) and filming took place in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

area at the following locations: *

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...

Public School * Bardia Parade, Holsworthy *

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network u ...

Hawkesbury campus swimming pool * Granville Performance Hall * Wattamolla

Soundtrack

# "When We Get There" –

Josh Pyke Joshua Jon Pyke (born 18 December 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter, producer, musician and children's book author. Biography Josh Pyke is a prolific songwriter, with a successful and critically acclaimed career both domestically and ove ...

# "Even" – Simon Day (

Ratcat Ratcat are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney who formed in 1985. The band is fronted by mainstay vocalist and guitarist, Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop song writing and energetic punk-style guitar rock won them fans from bo ...

) # "Heartbreak Hill" –

Michael Yezerski Michael Yezerski is an Australian composer known for his scores for feature films such as '' The Waiting City'', '' The Black Balloon'' (for which he won an APRA Award and a Screen Music Award), ''Newcastle'', and ''Thursday's Fictions'', as wel ...

# "The Black Balloon Theme" – Michael Yezerski # "Bath Time" / "Bullet Boy" – Michael Yezerski # "In The Poo" / "The Bus" – Michael Yezerski # "The Lolly" – Michael Yezerski # "A New Game" / "Water Babies" – Michael Yezerski # "Learning To Swim" – Michael Yezerski # "The Kiss" – Michael Yezerski # "The School Fight" – Michael Yezerski # "Fall at Your Feet" –

Glenn Richards Glenn Anthony Richards (born 29 December 1973) is an Australian musician, best known as the mainstay guitarist singer-songwriter for the Australian rock band Augie March. Early life Richards was born in Shepparton, Victoria on 29 December 1973. ...

(

Augie March Augie (sometimes spelled Auggie) is a nickname for variations of the name August, which derives from the Latin name Augustus. It may refer to: People *Augie Auer (1940–2007), meteorologist *Augie Galan (1912–1993), Major League Baseball play ...

) # "Aftermath" – Michael Yezerski # "The Walk Home" – Michael Yezerski # "The Greatest ACT in History" – David Campbell,

Bert Labonte Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

# "Afloat! The Conga" –

Claire McCarthy Claire McCarthy is an Australian screenwriter, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and Visual arts, visual artist. Early life Claire was born in Sydney, the daughter of Christine, an author and concert pianist, and John McCarthy ...

, Miriam Rihani, Afro Moses "

Fall at Your Feet "Fall at Your Feet" is a 1991 song by Crowded House, from their 1991 album, ''Woodface''. It is the only single from ''Woodface'' to be written solely by the group's leader Neil Finn, who co-wrote all other singles from the album with his brothe ...

" is a rendition of the

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

(

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...

) song. The soundtrack won 'Best Original Soundtrack' at the 2008 APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards for

, with Josh Pyke winning 'Best Original Song' for "When We Get There", which he co-wrote with Yezerski. Songs also featuring in the film include "Better" by

The Screaming Jets The Screaming Jets are an Australian hard rock band formed in Newcastle, Australia, in 1989 by frontman Dave Gleeson (vocals), Paul Woseen (bass guitar), Grant Walmsley (guitar)Richard Lara(guitar), and Brad Heaney (drums). The band has three al ...

, "Don't Go Now" by

, "

Streets of Your Town "Streets Of Your Town" is a song by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their 1988 album ''16 Lovers Lane''. Featuring polished production, a prominent backing vocal by Amanda Brown (musician), Amanda Br ...

" by

The Go Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout ...

, "Know You Know" by The Someloves and

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...

' "Driving Wheels".

References

External links

* *
''The Black Balloon''
at ICON Entertainment
''The Black Balloon''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Balloon, The 2008 films 2000s coming-of-age drama films 2008 romantic drama films 2000s teen drama films 2000s teen romance films 2000s pregnancy films APRA Award winners Australian coming-of-age drama films Australian romantic drama films Australian teen films 2008 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films Films about autism Films about dysfunctional families Films set in Sydney Films set in the 1990s Films shot in New South Wales Films shot in Sydney Icon Productions films Films directed by Elissa Down