{"product_id":"9781805751052","title":"Red Balloon","description":"\u003ch3\u003eBFI Film Classics\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eRed Balloon\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCynthia Felando\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerforming Arts \/ Film \/ General\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlbert Lamorisse's \u003ci\u003eThe Red Balloon\u003c\/i\u003e (1956) follows five-year-old Pascal, who lives in the working-­class district of Ménilmontant in Paris and discovers a red balloon that becomes his companion and loyal friend until a gang of bullies destroys it. In a surprise ending, Pascal is saved when all of Paris's balloons band together to carry him away into the sky. Made on a modest budget and running just 34 minutes, the film has remained in circulation for nearly seventy years and is widely regarded as one of the defining works of short-form cinema.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn her study of the film, Cynthia Felando examines how Lamorisse creates meaning through image, movement, and colour, rather than dialogue. She places the film within the context of post-war French cinema, exploring Lamorisse's use of location shooting, small-scale production methods and non-professional performers. She also considers the place of the short film in mid-century film culture, when shorts were commonly screened alongside feature films.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFelando reads \u003ci\u003eThe Red Balloon\u003c\/i\u003e as a film open to different interpretations. It can be approached as a children's film, a story about friendship and loss, a portrait of post-war Paris, or a work that sits between realism and fantasy. By tracing these possibilities, she shows why the film continues to attract audiences and invites a broader consideration of the short film as a distinctive cinematic form.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCynthia Felando is Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Film and Media studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. She is editor of \u003ci\u003eShort Film Studies\u003c\/i\u003e, a peer-reviewed academic journal. She is also the author of \u003ci\u003eDiscovering Short Films: The History and Style of Live-Action Fiction Shorts \u003c\/i\u003e(2015) and has contributed to several edited collections including \u003ci\u003eThe Bloomsbury Handbook to Sofia Coppola \u003c\/i\u003e(Bloomsbury Academic, 2022), \u003ci\u003eThe Films of Spike Jonze\u003c\/i\u003e (2019), and \u003ci\u003eThe Routledge Companion to World Cinema\u003c\/i\u003e (forthcoming).\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e01 April 2027\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBritish Film Institute\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781805751052\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaperback \/ softback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e104\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51223601676428,"sku":"9781805751052","price":16.16,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_61bba12b-db68-4d4e-8b5b-f5f2dec8da16.jpg?v=1783078581","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781805751052","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}