The Black Balloon

Clip 2: Charlie does a runner

2 min 46 sec

Taken from the feature The Black Balloon (2007)

Original title classification M – this clip chosen to be PG

A video which normally appears on this page did not load because the Flash plug-in was not found on your computer. You can download and install the free Flash plug-in then view the video. Or you can view the same video as a downloadable MP4 file without installing the Flash plug-in.

Availability of the complete title

Curator’s clip description

Charlie (Luke Ford) has noticed that the front door is unlocked. He seizes his chance to go for a run, pursued by his brother Thomas (Rhys Wakefield). Both are wearing only underpants. Charlie runs into a stranger’s house to use the toilet. As he’s trying to drag his brother out, Thomas realises that Jackie (Gemma Ward), a girl from school, is in the shower.

Curator’s notes

Much of the comedy is built on an acute sense of embarrassment, which flows directly from the age of Thomas. He’s 15, the age when embarrassment can feel like a crushing blow. Elissa Down, co-writer and director, could have chosen a different age for this story, given that it’s based on her own experience of growing up with two autistic brothers. Choosing this stage in Thomas’s life adds greatly to the film’s potential for comedy as well as drama.

Paul Byrnes, curator

australian screen