Ballon

I saw this film at the theatre this evening and I must admit, it captured and captivated me from the very first scene right up until the final climax.

The language barrier and English subtitles didn't affect the suspense level one bit, quite on the contrary. The fact that it's based on a true story just made it that much more entertaining and worthwhile to see.

The cast is truly "unbelievable", not literally speaking! This film just goes to prove that having a good script, actors and director completely compensates for having a low budget. You don't need a hundred million dollars to make a great movie and this is a fine example.

The plot and characters are so alive and vivid. You can feel their tensions and fears. This is definitely a movie to be seen as a family. The family values displayed are invaluable. Truly inspiring.

There isn't much bad to write about Ballon. I don't know what people could dislike about this movie. To me it was entertaining, with quite a lot of suspense once you're into the story, a good cast (even the kids), and it's all nicely shot. I understand everybody was suspicious of the Stasi at that time, your best friend could betray you, but in this case I think they exaggerated a bit in order to make it more suspensful. But the suspense was the good thing about the story, plus the fact that it's based on a true story which made it even more appealing. It's one of the better German movies I've seen lately, certainly worth a watch if you like escape movies.

One of the better movies I've seen lately is German suspense movie "Balloon". Although released in Germany in 2018, it was released more recently in the US. Directed by Michael Herbig, the editing and pacing are very good as is the excellent background music. Actress Caroline Schuch anchors as the mother "Doris" giving perhaps the most authentic performace, though all actors do well. The balloon scenes are technically done satisfactorily, though best is the torment and anguish the family feels from the regime fueling their desire. The atmosphere of dialog of control and subtle oppression is underscored. 8/10

An enjoyable German thriller telling of a family's attempt to escape from east Germany via hot air balloon, no less. It's one of those true "stranger than fiction" tales that plays out in a surprisingly engrossing and suspenseful way. The action and scale are low key, but the ballooning scenes are handled adroitly and the scenes of the Stasi and their investigations keep the suspense going. Nothing to dislike about a well-made thriller that actually thrills.

'Why do we bother guarding the border? Wouldn't we be better off without those traitors?' This question by a Stasi-official pinpoints the paradox of communism: if a system without freedom would be better than a free society, why would citizens escape this system? The German film 'Ballon' doesn't elaborate on the pros and cons of political systems. Instead, it is a thriller filled with suspense, about two families trying to cross the border between East and West in a home made hot air balloon. The thriller-element is far more important than the political side of the story. The director doesn's shy away from classic Hollywood screenwriting clichés. But he gets away with it. I was gripped by the story, although it's clear that it's made more exciting than it was in reality. The excellent wikipedia-entry 'East German balloon escape' is interesting reading material for those who want to compare the film with reality. Besides being a fine thriller, 'Ballon' also shows very well the effects authoritarian societies have on its citizens. They risk their own lives and those of their young children, in order to stop living in a big lie. Many films have shown the gruesome aspects of East German communism, but once again I was amazed by the cruelty of people oppressing each other.