On my daily Youtube trawl today, I came across a video for the late, great
Elliott Smith's song
Son of Sam, recently uploaded by his record company, which is clearly inspired by
Albert Lamorisse's wonderful classic short,
The Red Balloon.
I'd never seen the video before and the timing seems particularly apt given that
Janus Films have just re-released Lamorisse's movie theatrically along with the director's other shortform masterpiece,
White Mane. You should definitely see this double bill on the big screen - a list of playdates can be found
here - but if you aren't near any of the theaters listed, you can also watch
The Red Balloon in four parts on Youtube.
Another reason the Smith video is so relevant right now is that
Hou Hsiao-Hsien's
Flight of the Red Balloon, another homage to Lamorisse's movie, is to be released next year through
IFC First Take. I sadly missed the film when it played at the
New York Film Festival a few months ago, but am very excited by the prospect of the movie, which you can see a trailer for below.
Incidentally,
The Red Balloon was also the first film that
Esther Robinson, director of the excellent
A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory (out this Friday), ever saw. Look out for an interview with her later this week.
# posted by Nick Dawson @ 12/09/2007 01:59:00 AM
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