#100days - '56: The Red Balloon = Oscar history

The Red Balloon is a beloved 1956 film by writer/director Albert Lamorisse. It is utterly charming, the story of a young boy who is befriended by a floating red balloon in post-war Paris. But there's nothing twee about The Red Balloon, with isolation and bullying key themes to the film.

Only 36 minutes long, it is nearly silent and the limited dialogue is all in French. Nevertheless The Red Balloon won the Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, one of only five foreign language films to do so. It is also the only short film ever to win an Oscar in a non-short film category.

We had a photobook of the film when I was growing up, and I read that until it almost fall apart, without even realising there was a film. When I first saw the short film, it broke my heart all over again. Highly recommended!