tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post640741945680732905..comments2024-03-22T08:29:01.459-07:00Comments on Are the hills going to march off?: Flight of the Red Balloon (2007) A Film by Hou Hsiao-HseinCarson Lundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164962777812861110noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post-3459932629859223342010-08-09T02:32:11.945-07:002010-08-09T02:32:11.945-07:00Thank you very much indeed, Carson. That's wha...Thank you very much indeed, Carson. That's what I aim for. There are some films that need a certain approach (from me) and others a colder, more analytical one.<br /><br />When you try to put across the feel of a more "sensual" experience I suppose you put across some of yourself too. I like the term "personal poem"<br /><br />"For me, it's similar to the way that Ozu uses trains or clothing lines as accents"<br /><br />I agree. "Grace notes" indeed.<br /><br />"It provides a somewhat sad note, suggesting that Simon or Suzanne's problems cannot be corrected in the present, only in the recollected past."<br /><br />Well said.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post-61310849480818749292010-08-08T09:34:12.422-07:002010-08-08T09:34:12.422-07:00Stephen, I always love these short pieces you writ...Stephen, I always love these short pieces you write, which are less formal essays than personal poems. You wonderfully nail down the vibe of the film, which can't be over-analyzed. It's light and sensual. <br /><br />I think you're correct that the balloon is to some extent a simple grace note, a counterpoint, but I can't help but think it possesses some symbolic meaning, as I elaborated in my final paragraph. For me, it's similar to the way that Ozu uses trains or clothing lines as accents, in that they are always inexorably moving with the flow of life. In this way, it provides a somewhat sad note, suggesting that Simon or Suzanne's problems cannot be corrected in the present, only in the recollected past.Carson Lundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10164962777812861110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post-31930580758005568962010-08-07T23:31:25.194-07:002010-08-07T23:31:25.194-07:00Carson,
You express so well a lot of what I got f...Carson,<br /><br />You express so well a lot of what I got from this film.<br /><br />"As if to announce the film's fundamental distinction right off the bat, Hou has the balloon not follow Simon. Instead, it has a mellow, indifferent air, justified in the subsequent credit sequence set to elegiac piano music."<br /><br />Yes, elusiveness is one of the major colours of the film's palette - of time, of love, of life.<br /><br />I find it hard to tie down(!) the balloon to any symbolic meaning. It acts to me as a counterpoint, a calm balancing of what is going in within the family.<br /><br />Maybe it's a comment on their lives in that it may seem to have a mind of its own but it is only being carried on the wind. Suzanne and Simon are too lacking in full control. Only they are not peaceful about it.<br /><br />This film is one of the best of the past few years. I wrote a short mood piece on it here:<br /><br />http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2009/11/flight-of-red-balloon-2007-hou-hsiao.htmlStephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.com