The Black Balloon

"Normal is relative."

2008 1h 37m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

85%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 97🍅85%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 9,478

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Thomas is turning 16. His dad's in the army and they've just moved to a town in New South Wales; his mom is pregnant; his older brother, Charlie, who's autistic, has his own adolescent sexual issues. Thomas finds Charlie an embarrassment in public, so when Thomas is attracted to Jackie, a girl in his swim class, Charlie presents any number of obstacles when she drops by their house, when the three of them go for a walk, and during a family birthday dinner. Can Thomas find a way to enter the world of teen romance and still be his brother's keeper, or is Charlie's disability going to prove more than Thomas can handle?

“Normal is relative.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Rhys Wakefield
Thomas Mollison
Luke Ford
Charlie Mollison
Toni Collette
Maggie Mollison
Erik Thomson
Simon Mollison
Gemma Ward
Jackie Masters
Sarah Woods
Woman Next Door
Sam Fraser
Kid Next Door
Zelie Bullen
Mother in Van

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Elissa Down
Writers: Jimmy Jack, Elissa Down
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Elissa Down, shot by Denson Baker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Yezerski. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Veronika Jenet shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Rhys Wakefield and Luke Ford and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Normal is relative.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0865297 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Elissa Down directs. Denson Baker behind the camera. Michael Yezerski scores. Veronika Jenet cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Australia, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 18 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.
3Directed by Elissa Down, shot by Denson Baker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Michael Yezerski. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Veronika Jenet shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Rhys Wakefield and Luke Ford and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Normal is relative.".
8IMDB entry: tt0865297 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 97 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "sydney, australia", "birthday", "autism", "family dinner".