The Red Balloon and Other Stories: Five Films by Albert Lamorisse

Rarely has the spirit of childhood been evoked as exquisitely as in this Academy Award–winning cinematic fable, a fantasy with the texture of reality. On the streets of 1950s Paris, a young boy (played by director Albert Lamorisse’s son, Pascal) is launched on a miraculous adventure when he’s playfully pursued by a shiny red balloon that seems to have a mind of its own—until the harsh realities of the world interfere, setting the stage for a deeply moving finale. Shot in beautifully muted Technicolor, this beguiling allegory of innocence and transcendence has inspired generations of viewers to let their imaginations take flight.

Possessed of the timeless perfection of a fable, this tale about the unique bond between children and animals is Albert Lamorisse’s ode to the awe-inspiring majesty of nature. Amid the vast flatlands of the Camargue in the South of France lives White Mane, a magnificent wild stallion who refuses to be broken by men and instead forms a connection with a young boy, with whom he embarks on a daring quest for freedom. Fully capturing the rugged beauty of its marsh setting, this extraordinarily photographed treasure of children’s cinema—which won the Grand Prix for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival—speaks to the hearts of all creatures yearning to live untamed.

Featuring narration by celebrated poetic-realist writer Jacques Prévert, Albert Lamorisse’s first fiction film established his stylistic and thematic signatures: elegant simplicity, storybook-like voice-over, and empathetic concern for children and animals. Filmed on the Tunisian island of Djerba, this spirited adventure follows two boys—one poor and good-hearted, the other wealthy and spoiled—who go from rivals to friends as they set out to save a donkey from thieves. From the start, Lamorisse’s gift for bringing forth the inner lives of his nonhuman characters suffuses his art with an otherworldly magic.

Following the international triumph of The Red Balloon, Albert Lamorisse turned to feature filmmaking with another delightful tale of a boy and a balloon. Making spectacular use of Hélivision—an innovative aerial photography technique he developed—Lamorisse takes us on the breathtaking odyssey of a young boy (played by his son, Pascal) who sneaks aboard his inventor grandfather’s experimental new hot-air balloon for a voyage across France. Soaring above cathedrals and castles, the Mediterranean and the Alps, Stowaway in the Sky celebrates the natural world and ponders, with surprising existential insight, the place of human beings within it.

Albert Lamorisse’s second and final foray into narrative feature filmmaking is also a whimsical visual enchantment and an elegant and eccentric comedy. In it, a daring young thief (Philippe Avron)—having been affixed with a pair of wings in order to become a flying circus attraction—finds himself mistaken for an angel, spreading both mischief and goodwill as he travels across the countryside. Lamorisse’s love of flight and his gentle humanism shine through in this work of impish charm and exuberant inspiration.