Balloon - Il vento della libertà

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.

Great Actors, thrilling action, phantastic film music. Director Michael Herbig finds the right tonality to tell this true story. Must See!

'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.

How two families engineer their escape from Communist East Germany to the West is excellent on all fronts: a gripping story line, a great director and actors, and the supporting soundtrack. The suspense builds and continues throughout the movie. Plenty of twists and turns to keep the audience engaged.

Balloon is a solid and unpretentious movie built around a cat-and-mouse game between infamous Stasi and two families trying to escape East Germany in a home-made hot air balloon. If it weren't based on a true story it would be difficult to believe how much risk some people would be willing to take with the life of their families while their day to day lives weren't really threatened by the system as long as they played along. However, once their initial attempt for escape fails, they realized they were being chased by Stasi and became desperate to flee the country no matter how.

Balloon has an engaging story, good direction, decent acting performance and above-the-average entertainment value. The recreation of 70's East Germany is well-done and convincing. After the first failing attempt, the pace of the movie indeed sags a bit, especially with the Berlin scenes, but it quickly picks up with the tension and drama kept tight till the end. It's worth watching and highly recommended.