Bardlerx Strictly average movie

Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

TeenzTen An action-packed slog

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

immortalorchid1990 The Black Balloon tells a story of teenager's (Rhys Wakefield) life with his autistic brother, Charlie (Luke Ford). While his pregnant mother (Toni Collette) is on bed rest for some part of the movie and father (Erik Thomson) working, Thomas goes through some brother-to-brother challenges when taking care of him. He develops his first crush (Gemma Ward) who seems like she is more accepting to his brother's condition than he is.Director, Elissa Down, made this film wonderfully – adding a touch of truth and love behind the hardship of raising an autistic member in the family. I am very impressed on the actors of the film as I thought they did an outstanding job on their performances. Even though this is Rhys first film to appear as the main character, he made his acting believable and emotional throughout the whole film and same as the rest of the cast.As a result of watching The Black Balloon, I give this movie 10/10 for best acting and great storyline!

apoormonkeybutler Lots of water symbolism in this movie, like with Charlie's Noah's Ark play, and his brother Thomas' lifeguard training. And there's a bathtub scene at the end! There's also a scene at an abandoned army training field with Thomas' girlfriend who kind of looks like Amanda Seyfried that probably also has some symbolic undercurrent, like after Thomas gives her a "beautiful" empty ammunition shell pendant (during a rain storm), she tells him to close his eyes, and says she imagines beyond the fuzzy blackness, she can see her mom. Charlie is there too!Thomas' mom's name is Maggie, which is a diminutive of Margaret, which derives from the Greek word for pearl. So maybe the shell had something to do with mom (pearl)? Mom's portrayed by Toni Collette, who later had a role on the United States of Leeland (Tara) as a mom of a daughter who sat on balloons for a web-cam fetish site. Coincidence!?! Probably! She's a good actress! Thomas' dad works for the Army. His name is Simon and he consults a teddy bear named Rex for advice, and his home life is a disaster! The part where he finally outwits the bullies and rides around the block on his big-wheel is probably the best part of the film!See this movie, even if it's Australian and doesn't have Noah Taylor. It features an artistic kid rubbing poop into carpet and has a great soundtrack!

Howard Schumann If love means accepting someone the way that they are and the way that they are not, the biggest test of that love may come if you must spend your life with an individual that is so disabled that they require constant attention to ensure their safety and that of others. Such is the case for the parents and siblings of Charlie Mollison (Luke Ford) in first-time director Elissa Down's The Black Balloon, the story of a family that has to muster all of its strength to cope with their disabled son Charlie. Charlie is now a teenager but his mental age is around two. Unable to speak or communicate with other than grunts and sign language, he is not only autistic but suffers from attention deficit disorder with hyperactive tendencies.Because his father Simon (Erik Thomson) is a soldier who must move often, Charlie and his family have recently moved to Sydney, Australia. This means a new period of adjustment for all, but mostly for fifteen-year-old Thomas (Rhys Wakefield), a shy teenager who has the additional task of looking after his brother while his mother Maggie (Toni Collette) is pregnant. Life for the Mollisons is not easy or pleasant and the director does not try to sugar-coat it. Students at the high school make disparaging remarks when Charlie's bus drops Thomas off at school, neighbors are upset enough to call the authorities when Charlie sits outside in the yard and pounds a wooden spoon while moaning, and Thomas has to run through the streets chasing Charlie when he bursts out the door in his underwear and barges into a stranger's house.Not much is shown of Thomas' life at school except for his swimming class, an activity that Thomas can barely manage. Things begin to brighten, however, when he meets Jackie (Gemma Ward) in swim class. Jackie takes an interest in him and is open and understanding about the hardships of his family situation, even though he feels like he must hide Charlie in his room when Jackie comes to the house. Jackie, however, is sympathetic when Thomas reacts with outbursts of uncontrolled anger after Charlie spoils his birthday party.Beautifully photographed by Denson Baker, The Black Balloon is no Rain Man or Gilbert Grape. There are no savants here. Having been raised with two autistic brothers, Downs' film is authentic and moving, a powerful, unsentimental cry from the heart filled with impeccable performances that allow us to feel every minute of the family's ordeal. Though the film may leave us shaken, it also can leave us wiser if we realize that regardless of the circumstances, our lives can be enriched if we learn to give of ourselves not out of condescension and duty but out of love.Grateful for Jackie's patience, Thomas begins to include Charlie in his life and attempts to forge a loving bond, providing the film's most touching moment when he participates with Charlie in a musical performed by Charlie's class. As he embarks on a journey of self discovery, Thomas knows that there will be times when he rejoices in seeing his brother happy and other times when he aches for his freedom. At times like these, he can only trust in the fact that "the universe is born of love and in love it remains", understanding that, in the words of Vivekananda, "All beings great or small, are equally manifestations of the divine, the difference is only in the degree of manifestation."

kevingoodwin Well I hate to say it,but another very average offering from the Australian film industry, once more gazing into Australians , own navel. How many times has this story already been told ? A claustrophobic, kitchen sink type tale of two brothers, one "normal" , one not so normal. This scenario has been played out numerous times before and on a couple of occasions much better than this one . Collette plays her usual, vaguely scruffy, vaguely down trodden female role she seems trapped within,again nothing new being said . This one should have been left on the shelf, for true Aussie film obsessives only, can't imagine many but the home market would rave over this plain fare, very parochial indeed.