1. Plot

2. Cast

3. Reception

4. Awards

5. Box office

6. Filming locations

7. Soundtrack

8. See also

9. References

10. External links

The film was released in Australian cinemas on 6 March 2008. The world premiere was at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany in February 2008, where the film received a Crystal Bear as the best feature-length film in the Generation 14plus category.^[2]

Plot

Fifteen-year-old Thomas Mollison (Rhys Wakefield) and his family move to a new home in the early 1990s. It begins with Charlie, his autistic brother, banging a wooden spoon on the grass with neighbours staring and pointing. Then, it cuts to the house where there are locks on the drawers and Maggie, their mother, locking star-shaped stickers in her bathroom cabinet. Thomas is anxious because he has to start at a new school, and make new friends. All he wants to do is fit in and be regarded in the same way as everyone else. However, it seems he struggles to achieve this goal. Although his family appears to be a fairly happy one, Thomas often feels isolated; it seems as if his mother only dotes upon his brother, Charlie (Luke Ford), and does not pay any attention to him. However, Thomas is devoted to his brother and shows affection for him. Charlie is Thomas's older brother who lives with autism, as well as attention deficit disorder. Charlie enjoys dressing up like a monkey, playing computer games using a Commodore 64 and receiving gold stars for good behaviour. Charlie communicates with the rest of his family by using sign language.

When their heavily pregnant mother, Maggie (Toni Collette), must take a rest owing to a recommendation by her doctor as a consequence of Maggie's high blood pressure, Thomas is put in charge of Charlie. Thomas finds this task difficult and onerous. For example, when Charlie flees from the house in a high-spirited mood, Thomas runs after him to ensure the safety of his brother. Thomas cannot keep up with Charlie. Matters become even more problematic when Charlie expresses the urge to go to the bathroom and enters the nearest house to use the toilet. When he does so, the brothers encounter Jackie (Gemma Ward) who is taking a shower. The fact that both brothers are only wearing their underwear is a source of severe embarrassment for Thomas.

Jackie exhibits her interest in Thomas when she attends a CPR class at school and visits Thomas at his home to return Charlie's monkey hat he left when he used Jackie's toilet. Thomas's first response is to ensure that his brother is hidden away from Jackie. However, Maggie is less than thrilled when she discovers that Thomas has locked Charlie in his bedroom. She then sees Charlie proceeding to rub his own faeces into the carpet. Thomas becomes frustrated and tells Maggie that Charlie is her responsibility. Maggie replies that Charlie will never be able to have a job, nor a family. He will be more likely to remain living with his parents for the rest of his life.

This latest episode proves too much for Maggie. Her husband, Simon, insists that she spend the rest of her pregnancy in the hospital instead, leaving Thomas to become the primary caregiver for Charlie. Thomas begins to enter into Charlie's world when he rides the bus for children with various disabilities with his brother. In addition, Thomas is seen dealing with Charlie, who has a meltdown due to Simon not buying some more items at a local supermarket since he does not have enough money. This again causes severe embarrassment for Thomas. That same evening when the trio return from the supermarket, Thomas, who was annoyed by the meltdown, rips up Charlie's star chart. This causes things to become worse when the brothers fight and Charlie throws a stool through the window. The next day, when Thomas attends his swimming class, Jackie wears Charlie's monkey ears, which pleases and amuses him. When Jackie meets Charlie, she makes a concerted effort to know and understand him, as well as to use Sign Language as a means by which to communicate with him.

Thomas and his father both endeavour to care for Charlie together. Simon tells Thomas that his mother is grateful to have Charlie as a child because she feels that the family is strong enough to be able to look after him. Representatives from Youth and Community Services visit the house and state that they have received multiple complaints about Charlie. Simon is furious at his neighbour whom he attributes responsibility for the invasive visit. Thomas also displays his loyalty to his brother. Charlie accompanies Jackie and Thomas to swim in a river. When it rains, they all shelter in a nearby drainpipe where Jackie and Thomas share their first kiss. When the boys arrive home, there is a note taped to the television which states that Maggie has given birth to a girl.

When Thomas sees Charlie at his school, Charlie becomes the victim of malicious taunting and harassment. Jackie tells Thomas that he needs to quit wishing that Charlie was "normal." Tensions flare when Jackie eats a roast dinner with the family in order to celebrate Thomas's sixteenth birthday. Jackie wonders whether or not Charlie will ever speak again. Thomas is confident that Charlie will if everyone will stop communicating with him using Sign Language. When Charlie begins masturbating at the table, this causes Jackie to become extremely uncomfortable. Also, Thomas becomes irate and smashes Charlie's Super NES console, leading to a fight between the brothers. After a physical altercation between the two brothers, Maggie exhibits sympathy for both of her sons. In spite of his mother's commiseration, Thomas still feels as if he behaved badly. In the morning, Thomas joins Charlie in his morning activity: sitting in the backyard while banging a wooden spoon on the ground.

The family attend a school musical production entitled "Animals Afloat," in which Charlie portrays a monkey. After Charlie's theatrical partner, Russell, has a meltdown on stage, Thomas and Charlie both don monkey costumes and give an outstanding performance. The brothers celebrate their success by taking a bubble bath together. Thomas confesses to his brother that when he was little, he used to fall asleep at night, wishing that Charlie would be normal. Charlie looks thoughtful. The film concludes with Thomas laughing and asking Charlie, "You just pissed on my leg, didn't you?" The brothers then share a laugh together.

Cast

• Rhys Wakefield as Thomas Mollison
• Luke Ford as Charlie Mollison
• Toni Collette as Maggie Mollison
• Erik Thomson as Simon Mollison
• Gemma Ward as Jackie Masters
• Lloyd Allison-Young as James
• Nathin Butler as Chris
• Lisa Kowalski as Sally
• Firass Dirani as Russell
• Sarah Woods as Janet
• Kieran Smith as Elephant No. 2
• Ryan Clark as Dean

The Afloat! segment was cast from a group of teens and young adults whose lives are affected by autism and Asperger's Syndrome. Some of the Afloat! cast have high-functioning autism themselves, others were their siblings. This reflected the "two by two" nature of the Noah's Ark theme as well as continued the theme of siblings working together and loving one another.

Reception

Overall, the film received positive reviews. The first weekend of release saw The Black Balloon at number 10 on the Australian box office with an intake of $500,000. Rotten Tomatoes reported that, based on 42 reviews, 88% of them were positive.^[5]

Awards

On 11 November 2008, The Black Balloon won the Best Children’s Feature Film award in the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The award was accepted by Producer Tristram Miall and Director/Writer/Co-Producer Elissa Down.^[6][7][8]

Since then, The Black Balloon has received numerous awards (and nominations) in Australia and at Film Festivals around the world:

Box office

Filming locations

Production wrapped up in 2007 (the year of its copyright notice) and filming took place in the Sydney area at the following locations:

• Holsworthy Public School
• Bardia Parade, Holsworthy
• University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury campus swimming pool
• Granville Performance Hall
• Wattamolla

Soundtrack

1. "When We Get There" – Josh Pyke
2. "Even" – Simon Day (Ratcat)
3. "Heartbreak Hill" – Michael Yezerski
4. "The Black Balloon Theme" – Michael Yezerski
5. "Bath Time" / "Bullet Boy" – Michael Yezerski
6. "In The Poo" / "The Bus" – Michael Yezerski
7. "The Lolly" – Michael Yezerski
8. "A New Game" / "Water Babies" – Michael Yezerski
9. "Learning To Swim" – Michael Yezerski
10. "The Kiss" – Michael Yezerski
11. "The School Fight" – Michael Yezerski
12. "Fall at Your Feet" – Glenn Richards (Augie March)
13. "Aftermath" – Michael Yezerski
14. "The Walk Home" – Michael Yezerski
15. "The Greatest ACT in History" – David Campbell, Bert Labonte
16. "Afloat! The Conga" – Claire McCarthy, Miriam Rihani, Afro Moses

"Fall at Your Feet" is a rendition of the Neil Finn (Crowded House) song.

The soundtrack won 'Best Original Soundtrack' at the 2008 APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards for Michael Yezerski,^[10] with Josh Pyke winning 'Best Original Song' for "When We Get There", which he co-wrote with Yezerski.^[11]

Songs also featuring in the film include "Better" by The Screaming Jets, "Don't Go Now" by Ratcat, "Streets of Your Town" by The Go Betweens, "Know You Know" by The Someloves and Jimmy Barnes' "Driving Wheels".

See also

• List of fictional characters on the autistic spectrum

References

External links

• {{IMDb title|0865297|The Black Balloon}}
• {{mojo title|blackballoon|The Black Balloon}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070401213603/http://www.iconmovies.net/blackballoon/ The Black Balloon] at ICON Entertainment

• The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two
• The One Where Rachel Is Late
• The One Where Rachel Quits
• The One Where Rachel Smokes
• The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits
• The One Where Rachel's Sister Baby-Sits
• The One Where Rachel Tells...
• The One Where Rosita Dies
• The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break
• The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know
• The One Where Ross Can't Flirt
• The One Where Ross Dates a Student
• The One Where Ross Finds Out
• The One Where Ross Gets High
• The One Where Ross Got High
• The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel
• The One Where Ross is Fine
• The One Where Ross Is Fine
• The One Where Ross Moves In
• The One Where the Monkey Gets Away
• The One Where The Stripper Cries
• The One Where the Stripper Cries
• The One where the Stripper Cries
• The One Where They All Turn Thirty
• The One where they all turn thirty