EVER-VERSATILE Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien took his cameras to Paris to make a loving tribute to a 50-year-old short fantasy movie, “The Red Balloon” by Albert Lamorisse. He gave his cast a vague idea of what was going on, then had them improvise.
The result is “Flight of the Red Balloon,” a self-reflective portrait of an extended family. There’s puppeteer Suzanne (Juliette Binoche, her dark hair dyed blond); her 7-year-old son, Simon (Simon Iteanu), who is trailed around Paris by a mysterious red balloon; and Song (Song Fang), a Chinese film student newly taken on as the boy’s nanny.
The film’s tension – what there is of it – is provided by Suzanne’s dysfunctional domestic life. Her apartment is a cluttered mess, her husband has taken off for Montreal to write a novel, and the downstairs tenant is an arrogant deadbeat. (If you must be arrogant, at least pay the rent.)
Fans of Hou know just what to expect from his slow, contemplative films – and they won’t be disappointed. But as much as I enjoyed “Flight of the Red Balloon,” I still prefer his early, Taiwan-made efforts, such as the 1985 “A Time To Live and a Time To Die.”
In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 113 minutes. Not rated (nothing objectionable). At the Paris and the IFC Center.