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wejetset films: Flight of the Red Balloon

The interplay of minimalism and extravagance is the aesthetic of Taiwanese film director and leading innovator of Taiwan’s new wave cinema movement, Hou Hsiao-Hsien. His style is moody—marked by extremely long takes with little camera movement yet intricate choreography of actors and space within the frame. Hou uses his stories about simple, unassuming people to illustrate larger realities.

In his latest work, Flight of the Red Balloon, for reasons unknown, a red balloon follows seven-year-old around Paris. His mother, overwhelmed by pressures from her demanding career as a puppeteer, hires a Taiwanese film student, to care for her son. The balloon represents a freedom the constrained modern child does not enjoy. wejetset recommends Flight of the Red Balloon for its beautiful cinematography, compelling story and views of Paris. Click Read More to view the trailer and for additional information and photos.