After 40 years, this magical escape that took place in Germany finally has its own version of the Germans.

Chaim 2022-01-20 08:03:10

"Balloon" is a remake of the old 1981 film "Smugglers". Less than three years after the real incident happened that year, Disney put this miraculous escape on the screen. At the time, this movie was hailed as "the most serious movie ever made by Disney." However, because Disney is preparing for the filming, the actors are almost all British and American, and the protagonist is also the veteran British actor John Hurt.

It was not until nearly 30 years later that this magical escape that took place in Germany finally had its own German version.

He put on the screen the legendary stories he read when he was 11 years old

In 1979, the director of "Balloon" Michael Herbig was only 11 years old. He read this story in the newspaper and has never forgotten it ever since. Many years later, he became a well-known local comedy selling director. Several films were the annual box office champions in Germany. In 2004, "Dream Ship Surprise (First Part)" was the second best-selling director in German film history. Movie. But he is not satisfied with the realm of comedy, instead he wants to bring that childhood legend to the screen again.

"Balloon" director Michael Helbig

For this reason, he first got the right to remake the story in German from Disney. This process has gone through many twists and turns, and he has negotiated with Disney many times, but ended in failure, and no one around him supports his obsession. In the end, he relied on the cheeky to ask for help from a German colleague who had only met once, and the director Roland Emmerich of "The Day After Acquired" and "Independence Day" who had flourished in Hollywood, finally gnawed the hard bones of Disney.

Next, he spent five years preparing for the film-yes, since 2013, the director has not released any new works. For such a former comedy director who should pay more attention to commercial interests, this is really too conscience.

In the past five years, the crew visited the two families of the protagonist of the story many times, and with a rigorous attitude, they received the strong support of the two families. They have mastered many first-hand historical materials, including the design drawings of the hot air balloon at the time, the sewing machine used to sew the hot air balloon, and even read the 2000-page report of the East German secret police agency on the incident.

This is why you think this is actually a technical streaming film-the film restores the process of making balloons as much as possible, and it also makes you feel the rigor and romance of real science students and engineers.

This hot air balloon, which was successfully boarded in 1979 and can hold 8 people (or even more), is 32 meters high. The fabric alone weighs 150 kilograms and is hand-stitched with 1,245 square meters of colored fabric.

Why must they flee?

Living in a high-pressure society that is heavily monitored, the protagonists cannot purchase supplies at will to avoid arousing suspicion. Therefore, the connection between the hot air balloon and the hanging basket is actually made of "four long sticks wrapped around the clothesline."

There is no doubt that boarding such a humble hot air balloon is killing itself. But for the protagonists of the story, this is an inevitable gamble.

If you must die, dying in the hope of freedom is better than dying in a secret police prison and disappearing, as if it never existed.

Outside of the movie, in order to make this scene sufficiently shocking and real, the director also made a rather crazy decision: instead of using post-production special effects, instead of comparing the original size, the hot air balloon at the time was reproduced as it was, and the actors were also on board. Sky.

What's interesting is that the lead actor of this film, German actor Frederick Mucker, actually suffers from a serious fear of heights, so much so that he has not been in a plane for eight years. In the film, however, he plays the stable head of the family, and has always maintained his composure in the hot air balloon, cheering for the feared family. (When I look back at this scene, I can’t help feeling that everyone is really doing it desperately.)

Of course, I have to mention that another actor in the film is more familiar to the audience-David Klaus, who was the protagonist of "Reader". In the film, he is also the key figure in letting the hot air balloon fly into the sky. He is the strongest seamstress, tailor and master who sews 1,245 square meters of colorful fabrics together.

Did you recognize it, friends, this is David Klaus, the hero of "Reader".

"Reader" is also a movie more than ten years ago...

Why do we need a movie like "Balloon"?

Even in such a commercial film, the darkness and terror of political high pressure are not deliberately exaggerated. You can still feel from all kinds of details. Living in East Germany, your life has no secrets at all, and danger is everywhere.

The neighbors separated by a wall are the secret police, and there is always a desire to spy and control between words. The kindergarten teacher will ask the children about the current situation of the parents.

Even children would blurt out "no move, traitor" and chilling words when they were fighting. It is difficult to visualize what kind of political machines they will be cultivated by such an education system.

Perhaps just like the thrilling parallel editing in the opening movie, children stand on the stage with innocent faces praising East Germany, while the secret police are shooting and killing compatriots who are trying to cross the barbed wire.

It's self-evident how East Germany is and how it is.

It is true that in East Germany at the time, the people seemed to be living in an affluent society where the protagonists also lived a middle-class life. But this is still just a delicate cage, and a good life is just an illusion.

Unless you choose to be a puppet with your eyes closed all your life, you may be framed, exposed, and forced to disappear at any time. For people at that time, "freedom" was of course the most precious luxury, worth pursuing with their lives.

Screenshot of "Balloon"

Screenshot of "The Wave"

On the other hand, what does it mean to "flee to West Germany"?

Not only does it mean freedom, it also means losing everything in the past. For a "beautiful future", we must become solitary, desperate, and even hard-hearted.

This part happens to be a dark line in the film. Although it is sketched in a few details, it is enough to attract attention.

Because fleeing means abandoning family affection: abandoning their old parents, they may even be punished by sitting down.

Also abandon love: abandon your first love and never see each other again.

How cruel is behind the "escape" incident, the Korean peninsula, which has suffered from division like Germany, may have a better say:

In "We Are the Happiest", a pair of young lovers sneak out every night for a tryst, holding hands in the dark, but dare not tell each other that their respective families are plotting to defect from the North. It was decades later that they finally met in South Korea. Things are right and wrong, and their lives are squandered. Between young lovers, there is only silence and embarrassment.

In "Pyongyang Aquarium", the actor has gone through ten years of suffering in a concentration camp. His survival instinct can make him cold and ruthless, and learn to cheat, steal, and commit crimes. But it was this coldness that made him catch the driftwood in the water again and again, and finally fled to South Korea. After he successfully escaped, his sister was thrown into the concentration camp.

But no matter what he did, no matter what they did, in exchange for this commendable freedom, those of us who were born in a peaceful and prosperous age are destined to have no right to criticize these victims anymore.

Because, in such a harsh age, they have experienced too much suffering and too much misfortune. No matter what kind of words or images we rely on, we will never be able to put ourselves in and experience their pain.

Nowadays, is anyone willing to listen to such stories and dig into such a tragic history?

The name of this period of history is called "freedom".

View more about Balloon reviews

Extended Reading
  • Vergie 2022-04-22 07:01:49

    This freedom and courage is a product of history. Although the narrative is a bit tricky, it has its ups and downs. The discussion area of ​​this film feels like it will be 404, which is also the proposition and inspiration of a certain film in the future, i hope.

  • Leonie 2022-04-22 07:01:49

    German people are awesome and make hot air balloons at home. And the second man also said that building his own plane is not a problem, but there is no runway! Kneel down!