99 Red Balloons

 Flight of the Red Balloon is a French movie by a Chinese filmmaker. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Nena’s “99 Red Balloons.” Rather, it’s a remake of the more simply titled Red Balloon, a 1956 flick about a boy who is trailed around Paris by, yes, a red balloon. 1950s reviewers met it with acclaim, though one fellow at the Washington Post saw in it nothing but capitalist and Christian propaganda about transcendence. Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s remake won plaudits at major film festivals in 2007; this time around, the Washington Post called it “one of the most beautiful films ever.” Much of the film is spent wandering with Pascal and his self-piloting red balloon down city streets, while his electro-blond, postmodern single mom — who works as a puppeteer and a Chinese-to-French translator — guiltily leaves him in the care of a Taiwanese film student. Will the balloon pop? Find out at 2 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. today at the Lake Worth Playhouse (709 Lake Ave., Lake Worth). Tickets cost $8 or less. For more info, call 561-586-6410, or visit www.lakeworthplayhouse.org.
June 20-26, 2008