Starring: Rhys Wakefield, Gemma Ward, Luke Ford, Erik Thomson, Toni Collette.
The Australian located film The Black Balloon is orchestrated around the early 1990's life of teenage boy Thomas (Rhys Wakefield). The film focuses on autistic brother Charlie (Luke Ford), pregnant mother and army father who move to a new town where they meet Jackie (Gemma Ward).
The Black Balloon, is definitely a unique film. I haven't watched many films that focus on the lives of autistic teenagers or (personally) many films based in Australia for that matter. The film provided a perspective on the families point of view with dealing with an autistic teenager, as well as the autistic teenagers view.
When watching with the film, it was very hard to deal with the emotional aspect. I come from a family where my mother and sister work closely with adults with learning difficulties, so all my life I have been aware of the things they have to deal with. So for me, it was extra sensitive, because I'm so aware of what the autistic person has to deal with themselves, let alone having to deal with abuse from the ignorant public.
Luke Ford's performance as an autistic teenager was unreal. Throughout the movie, I was contemplating whether they hired an actual autistic actor or non-autistic actor and was shocked to find that it was a non-autistic actor.
Gemma Ward also featured in this movie - as one of my favourite models, I was ecstatic to see her full acting skills (as she was only momentarily in Pirates of the Caribbean). She fully proved herself, her whole aura matched the locational settings perfectly and her innocence yet fierceness worked well with her character.
The film, being located in Australia, naturally had beautiful settings and backdrops added to the serene and authentic cinematography. The locations were very suburban entwined with very rural and natural places, such as above. The whole cinematography was beautifully matched to the heartwarming and breaking, theme of the film.
Overall, the acting was excellent, the cinematography was beautiful, the locations were perfect and the storyline was genuine and original. I feel like this is a film that should reach a wider audience than it has, as it can open the eyes to a lot of people. I would definitely recommend, if you're looking for an intense watch.
The film, being located in Australia, naturally had beautiful settings and backdrops added to the serene and authentic cinematography. The locations were very suburban entwined with very rural and natural places, such as above. The whole cinematography was beautifully matched to the heartwarming and breaking, theme of the film.
Overall, the acting was excellent, the cinematography was beautiful, the locations were perfect and the storyline was genuine and original. I feel like this is a film that should reach a wider audience than it has, as it can open the eyes to a lot of people. I would definitely recommend, if you're looking for an intense watch.
