The White Balloon (1995) User Reviews

Strangers

[ackstasis · 8/10 · 21 December 2010]

Assuming you're keeping up-to-date with your current affairs, you'll have heard that the great democracy of Iran yesterday jailed director Jafar Panahi for six years, and forbade him from making movies, going abroad, or giving media interviews for the next twenty years. Allegedly, he had been producing a film critical of the Iranian government; that is, he was calling a spade a spade.

As a sort of one-man protest, I decided to watch one of Panahi's movies. 'The White Balloon (1995)' was the director's feature debut, and won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It tells an extremely simple tale, almost in real time: a young girl is given a 500-toman banknote to buy a goldfish for the Iranian New Year. On the way to the market, she loses the money down a sewer grate, and spends the rest of the film trying to get it back, either ignored or aided by the strangers she meets.

Putting the plot so simply doesn't really suggest a riveting cinematic experience, but I must say I was taken by the effectiveness of the film. We experience the bustling marketplace through the lens of the young girl, and genuinely share her mixed emotions. This really struck a chord with me. When I was a prep (age 5), I got lost during a school excursion, and I can still recall the dropping of my stomach, the quickened breathing, the welling of tears (don't worry, we got icy poles afterwards!). That's the feeling I got here, particularly when the snake charmer stole the girl's money and claimed it as a "donation." I felt as helpless as she did.

Fortunately, the film's overriding emotion is one of optimism. Strangers, seeing a child in distress, stop to offer their assistance. A young Afghan balloon-seller proffers a stick and chewing gum with which to retrieve the out-of-reach money. The girl's brother, a resourceful kid of about age ten, arrives on the scene, and suddenly everything seems like it's going to be OK. Sometimes simple films can be the most enjoyable of all.

Excellent

[zetes · 9/10 · 30 May 2003]

Abbas Kiarostami wrote this film, which is very much like his 1987 masterpiece, Where Is the Friend's Home? That film had a young boy trying to give back some other boy's homework that he accidentally took home. This one has a little girl having all kinds of problems trying to buy a goldfish on New Year's Eve. Each of these children have to navigate their way through a world of adults in a culture where the young are to be seen, but not heard. The earlier film is quite a bit better than The White Balloon, but this is a wonderful film in its own right. It has a wonderful set piece where a street performer thinks that the girl is donating the money she has for her goldfish to a snake charmer. She has to work up the courage to speak up for herself, and then to take the money when it has been wrapped around a snake. My only real problem with the film was the lead performance, by Aida Mohammadkhani. She has really nice facial expressions, but her voice and line delivery are monotonous; truth be told, she gets kind of obnoxious after a while. Mohsen Kalifi, who plays her older brother, is wonderful, on the other hand. I really liked the way the sibling relationship was developed. Kiarostami, genius that he is, adds some small details that give the film a much deeper resonance than one might find at first glance (I'd almost call this a trademark of his). The sequence with the titular balloon, along with the haunting final shot, is the kind of thing that could make this film last forever inside of me.

The Adventures of Innocence

[LeSamourai · 26 April 2000]

In his directorial debut, Jafar Panahi - a devoted pupil of Iranian film-god Abbas Kiarostami - is able to encapsulate the stubbornness and curiosity of a seven-year-old Tehranian girl so authentically (by use of newcomer Aida Mohammadkhani) that we forget that we are watching fiction unfold.

The White Balloon has a continuous feel that is obtained by allowing the story to unravel in real time. An unseen radio informs us that the Iranian New Year is almost upon the town; a tradition for this annual event is to either catch or buy a fish (fish represent life). Razieh, the little girl, is unsatisfied with the selection of fish in the family's pond. She complains that the family's fish are too "skinny." Eventually, Razieh's brother, Ali (Mohsen Kalifi's only role thus far), cons their mother into letting Razieh have a 500 note (Iranian money) to buy the fish that she wants. On her way to the market, Razieh loses the money two times. It is the second loss that is the most serious - the money falls into the cellar of a closed shop through a sidewalk drain. The remainder of the film is devoted to the introduction of various strangers offering either to help retrieve the note or pass the time with light-humored conversation.

Beautiful cinematography (winner of the Camera d'or at Cannes in 1994), memorable characters, and stunning direction backed by Kiarostami's expertly written script make for a great film that was reminiscent of my viewing of John Sayles' Secret of Roan Inish. Like Sayles' film, there is a magical, absorbing quality to The White Balloon that spellbinds the viewer regardless of age.

Understated Elegance

[bazmeh · 10/10 · 10 July 2005]

This movie, as has been said before, enters the world of children. But it does it with such a lack of full credit for grace and feeling. It never belittles children - in fact, it makes adults look like the buffoons they are. You feel for every victory and defeat they have and get engrossed in their plots and problems. The encounters with common Iranians is also wonderful, especially the soldier at the end. Perhaps the most natural example of child acting is shown through Rezayeh - I am surprised she was never nominated for anything in this film. Her other films are also great, but nothing matches "The White Balloon" Not to be missed - one of the best Iranian films of all time, without question.

wonderful

[jookyseacaptain · 10/10 · 7 May 2001]

I had the pleasure of watching this movie last year. I have recommended it to countless others since. There is something about this movie that stays with you and is absolutely unforgettable. I can't quite put my finger on it. The pace is slow and purposeful. The little girl and her brother are adorable. The minor characters are fantastic, including the tailor and the difficult customer. I found myself laughing out loud several times during the movie, The themes are universal. It was very easy to forget it took place in a different country in another language. It is all familiar and at the same time, revolutionary. I can watch this over and over. It may be a perfect film.

Time to go home now!

[frankde-jong · 7/10 · 21 September 2022]

Jafar Panahi was born in 1960. He was the assistent and pupil of Abbas Kiarostami (born 1940). His films are less philosophical but more like Neo Realism Iranian style. As a neo realist he sides with the underdog and this has brought him into conflict with the regime a number of times. In the summer of 2022 he was arrested in order to serve a 2010 sentence

"The white balloon" is situated just before Nowruz. Nowruz is the Iranian new year. It takes place around 21 March, and so it is a real welcoming of Spring and the beginning of the circle of live. It is a much bigger deal than new years day in the Western world. All families come together and in Iran that often entails a lot of travelling. So the preparation for Nowruz can be a rushed and stressful time and during this time not everybody has time for a little girl that has lost her banknote.

Panahi tells this everyday story from the point of view of the little girl.

Many of the worries of the grown ups turn out to be much more childish than the worries of the little girl.

Nowruz turns out to be a holiday to pay more attention to the members of your family, but certainly not automatically also to your fellow citizens.

In this respect the film resembles the message of "The wind will carry us" (1999) from his mentor Abbas Kiarostami. In this film a TV crew is in a small village to document traditional funeral rituals and is so focused on this aspect of life that the rest of the social interaction with the villagers is highly neglected.

The quest of a little girl to buy a goldfish, and the swindlers in her way who try to take advantage of her innocence.

[Evil_baron · 10/10 · 29 June 2007]

It was my big sister's turn to pick a film to go to when we were gorging ourselves in what the Reykjavik cinema festival had to offer back in the days. Didn't expect anything but mushy boredom for an hour and a half. Instead of the sentimental torture I had braced myself for, I became spellbound by this beautiful story that totally held me captivated right from the beginning to the end. The little girl, Aida who plays the protagonist, was ever so sincere and true in her role that you forgot you were watching a film, and even I felt a couple of masculine tears running down my cheeks. The White Balloon is simply a gorgeous film and it's out of the blue quirky humor elevates it even further. Even with the wet towel slap in the end, I truly loved the whole of this Persian confect buffet down to it's last bit, ... and still do!

Charming in a small way

[KFL · 6/10 · 25 July 2001]

The White Balloon has much in common with another Iranian movie about children, "Children of Heaven". In both, the children find themselves in a bind, and use their ingenuity to work out a solution of sorts. Overall, The White Balloon is somewhat slower, perhaps requires more patience on the viewer's part, but it may be more realistic about current-day Tehran and its residents. Children of Heaven has a bit more action and suspense, and might be a better choice for the typical Western moviegoer.

Both movies, however, feature excellent acting by the children, some heartbreaking scenes, some minor triumphs, and an intriguing glimpse of life in a truly foreign culture. Both might be called "artless" in the best sense of the word.

7/10 (vs. 8/10 for Children of Heaven)

A Drama for children and adults who like children

[fnbrill · 10/10 · 16 December 2002]

Most of the respondents have reviewed "White Balloon" as an art film. I would like to advocate its a great kids' movie. My kids (9 and 10) watched it entranced. To them its a movie about a real life situation that any kid could get into. It never patronizes children but treats them as the center of the film with their own lives and needs.

Something else which escapes the other reviewers is the filming is all done from a child's level.

A very determined young girl

[Red-125 · 10/10 · 21 June 2019]

The Iranian film Badkonake sefid was shown in the U.S. with the title The White Balloon (1995). The movie was co-written and directed by Jafar Panahi. (The famous Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a co-writer.)

The film stars Aida Mohammadkhani as Razieh, a seven-year-old girl who is determined to buy a beautiful goldfish for the New Year celebration. The movie moves forward as Razieh tries to get the money for the goldfish. Characters appear and disappear, new characters take their place, and things don't turn out quite as you expected them to turn out.

This is a wonderful movie, mostly because director Panahi was able to draw such a superb performance from Aida. (Two years later, she again starred in a movie by Panahi--The Mirror.)

We saw this film on the large screen in The Dryden Theatre at Rochester's George Eastman Museum. It will work on the small screen also.

This film has a very high IMDb rating of 7.8. It's that good.

Better Have My Money

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 25 November 2017]

Several people try to help a little girl to find the money her mom gave her to buy a goldfish with.

I am not as convinced as other people that this is a "great" movie, but it is a pretty good one. Despite being very simple, it happens to be rather effective. The director has said the intent was (at least in part) to make a movie for one dollar that Hollywood would have spent millions on. And in that respect he succeeded.

The film itself is not overly exciting, but it does have one thing going for it: it shows the everyday lives of the Iranian people. This is something that I think always has value for people watching in America, because somehow over the years Iran has become the country's chief rival (even more than Russia). I understand the reasons why, but find it unfortunate that the citizens have been demonized in the process. Watching films like this helps rectify that.

Good gentle film - but you need patience!

[bob the moo · 23 November 2001]

Young Razieh (Aida Mohammadkhani) needs to buy a goldfish to celebrate the New Year in Iran. Her mother (Fereshteh Sadr Orfani) gives her the money and she sets out to buy said fish. Along the way she continually loses the money and must rely on the kindness of strangers to help her.

This is a very slight film. It's plot is wafer thin in terms of traditional narrative, it may well frustrate many viewers with it's gentling strolling style. However it is quite funny on the surface. The many people who come and go during Razieh's journey are amusing - from the tailor berating a customer for having a small face causing his shirts to not look correctly tailored to the antics of the honest snake charmers. It's not a laugh out loud type of film but it does have a gentle humour throughout that is fun if you are in the mood for it.

In fact you really need to be in the mood for the whole thing - if you're lacking patience then you'll probably not last out this film but if you're willing to stick with it then you may be pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. The story doesn't grip you, but the humour helps to divert attention from this. In fact the guts of this film seems to be a message on the nature of society.

Throughout the film Razieh finds herself relying on the kindness or honesty of strangers to help her get her money. The towards the end one of the characters (a soldier played by Mohammad Shaani) talks to Razieh about his sisters and about what he has in common with her. He then defends himself when Ali (Mohsen Kalifi) attacks his sister for talking with strangers. This is closely followed by a short scene where all the characters that had interacted with Razieh cross the screen at the same time without really acknowledging each other. The message here is clear - that society is a lot closer knit than we think and it's only times of trouble where we turn to others. Instead we should develop the relationships with strangers that we easily could.

However this message is not delivered until the end of the film and it's only then that you understand what you've been watching. However the gentle comedy of the strangers make it easy to follow the film till this conclusion. Unlike other reviewers I don't think Mohammadkani was that good - she did come across as a very weepy brat and it was hard to sympathise with the problems that are all her own fault. However the other roles are good, Kalifi is the best child actor as Razieh and the other characters seem natural and forced (although Shahani's soldier is a bit preachy).

Overall a gently amusing film that is light on plot, but delivers it's simple message intelligently without forcing it down your throat.

Deceptive on Multiple Levels

[p_radulescu · 8/10 · 17 November 2010]

I watched this movie totally by surprise. I found out just one hour before that it was scheduled on TV.

It started slowly, maybe too slowly, or maybe too arid, for my taste, to become suddenly so cute, and not only cute, everything on the screen was real time, I was following breathlessly the adventures of the little girl, to find out, exactly at the end, that the movie was about something else.

The White Balloon - you get the meaning of the title only in the last scene, after all movie was about getting the money, loosing and then trying to recuperate them to buy a goldfish.

This movie is not only deceptive, it has multiple levels of deception.

The author of the screenplay is Abbas Kiarostami, and the way it starts looks like a movie by Kiarostami about children (along with grown-ups not understanding the little ones). Where is the Friend's Home comes to mind immediately, only this is beguiling. Here the grown-ups, as estranged from the natural of children as they can be, are eventually willing to help.

Also the little girl is not faultless either. Actually she is a pest. Anything bad that comes is due to her only. She is greedy, cunning, desperate, spoiled. That's it. While she is cute. Well, because all kids her age are the same way: greedy, cunning, selfish, desperate, spoiled; a pest, while extremely cute. That's why we love them.

Is it then a nice comedy about a cute girl who desires a goldfish? Not exactly, that's just another level of deception.

As it comes to the end, we realize the remarkable wholeness of this movie: a close space, just a couple of streets, a very short period of time, just a couple of hours, just a few personages, confined to this small space and time. Each one (not only the girl) is acting somehow frenetically, and the resulting whole is a crazy small universe, absurdly self-sufficient.

These people are acting totally unaware of each other, except when it happens to collide; in these particular situations they fight or cooperate, or do the both, then again each one is unaware of others' presence.

There is however a boy who's the exception, a stranger (an Afghan immigrant)... but you should watch the movie to get it.

The film narrates a simple stories in a sweet way, heartwarming way.

[theordinaryreview · 8/10 · 12 July 2013]

Snake charmer: "You never take back what you've given! Your money is gone."

After seeing Offside (2006), I decided to see more of Jafar Panahi and out of the three films I decided to see, The White Balloon is the first one.

The White Balloon takes place on New Year's eve. Seven year old Razieh is sad because she saw beautiful gold fishes in a pet shop but her mother won't let her have any because they have a pond with gold fish already. It is a tradition to have a gold fish for New Year's and after discussing it with her brother, Ali - who is a few years older than Razieh - she manages to convince their mother to give them the money to buy a goldfish in exchange for a balloon that she received. Happy and with a 500 torans note in her fish bowl, Razieh heads out to the pet shop. However, many obstacles and just as many characters will find themselves on her road to the sought out gold fish.

This film narrates one of the simplest stories in a sweet way. On many occasions it reminded me of Children of Heaven (1997) - the simple story, the struggles of children and the pervasive themes of money, poverty, the crowded streets of Tehran and of course, all of this centering around a fantastic child actress, Aida Mohammadkhani.

It was really heartwarming to see this little child try and convince adults that this money is life and death for her. The way she has to impose herself because adults won't listen to a child is truly moving. Her issues are varied: the multiple attempts she makes to procure the money but also the genuine help she receives from strangers, a notion that is discussed when a soldier argues with her about the notion of what being a "stranger" really is.

There are a lot of things that we the viewers are never told, but this didn't concern us, we were too focused on the journey with the 500 torans to care anyway. The movie walks a fine line between the absurd and realism while exploring the edges and angles of social interactions. In no overt way political (unlike the other movies from Panahi can be) it is a very straight forward tale. We are pleasantly reminded that it doesn't take a billion dollar budget to film a good movie.

On the other hand, the movie arouses our fears at the outset, without actually fulfilling them. We, as adult viewers, are afraid that Razieh will get hurt or robbed at any moment and when we realize our fears were unfounded it makes us wonder about this misanthropic fear we have of other human beings who we class as "strangers". Maybe we've been fooled too many times and we are wary of the innocence children can have.

The movie could have explored more avenues - explore their family, for example, or had music and perhaps more landscape shots - nevertheless, those would all have been decorative. The movie remains at heart as the story it tells, short and poignantly bare.

I liked: No unnecessary frills. Razieh is a lovely character. Endearing. Innocence of childhood.

I disliked: Maybe some characters were purposely threatening just to provoke a sense of fear in the viewer.

78/100 If you've enjoyed Children of Heaven (1997) I would recommend this to you. If you like stories involving child actors this is a must see.

Read more reviews at: www.theordinaryreview.blogspot.com

a girl loses the money to pay for a goldfish and goes on a quest to find it.

[Yahdancy · 10/10 · 21 May 2006]

I just finished watching this delightful movie about a five-year old Iranian girl who is given money to buy a goldfish but loses it. The film, innocent yet interesting and enthralling takes the viewer along on her journey to find the money so that she can get her fish. She encounters many people along the way, all who try to help her to get back the money. There are many underlying themes throughout the movie as well, but above all, we learn to help each other and see each other as more than just strangers. Also, the plot summary given about this film is misleading and downright false. No one tries to take advantage of this little girl at all!

Not too good.

[manendra-lodhi · 7/10 · 4 October 2012]

Firstly the film focuses on children, so your opinions become a little different while watching the film. Because their facial expressions and all are so cute, that you would fail sometimes to notice whether the film is really good or not. The story revolves around a 500 $ note which is given to a girl to buy a fish. However she keeps losing her all the time. People try to take that money from her in different ways but not forcibly. This thing is not portrayed properly. The story of the film is fantastic but I believe that it was not handled properly. Some characters seemed to be inserted forcibly. Also it lacked the child emotions like those present in films like children of heaven.

Verdict: "Not necessary to keep in the watch list."

A remarkable humanist vision from Iran.

[Rigor · 10/10 · 7 May 1999]

Post-revolutionary Iran has produced such a high number of remarkably accomplished, humanist films. This is one of the most accessible and accomplished. The story is really quite simple- a young girl desperately, and by adult standards irrationally, desires a new gold fish for New Years ceremonies. Through a wide range of complex adventures she gains and loses the financial resources to make her purchase. With this simple story two of Iran's most distinguished and influential directors Jafar Panahi (the director) and Abbas Kiarosrami (The writer of this film's screenplay) create a narrative that argues for the basic "goodness" and "decency" of the average citizen of Tehran.

Watching this film from an American context is a remarkably political experience. In a country that has replaced cold war nonsense (USSR is the "evil empire") with a new racist "Islamaphobia" that tries to rival the days of the European crusades, watching a film in which the basic daily lives of Arab citizens are treated with dignity is a liberating experience.

While the film obviously has a number of subtle an beautifully realized political and social messages that evidently resonate within in its own national context, it should also be respected for its cross-cultural themes and it's ability to inspire audiences from diverse backgrounds around the world. ...........

Let the balloon go!

[DukeEman · 6/10 · 3 February 2003]

A little girl ventures out into the big wide world with an aim to purchase a pet fish. She loses her mother's money and so begins a journey that includes meetings with strangers who are helpful and too good to be true. Cute, adorable... Would have made a great short film!

Universal appeal

[Pro Jury · 10/10 · 11 September 2004]

As a rule, the term "universal appeal" and Iran do not mesh together all that well in most minds. However, BADKONAKE SEFID is a wonderful exception that breaks the rule.

Some reviewers make a mistake to complain that the little girl was a spoiled kid and was not really all that likable. They have missed the point -- the little girl is a pest, just as _ANY_ little kid in _ANY_ country can be a pest when they have in their head that they want something. People, next door or on the other side of the globe, are not all that different from each other.

BADKONAKE SEFID is a remarkable film. Very well done.

Lead actress Aida Mohammadkhani has a cameo in another remarkable Iranian film, SIB (1998).

Liked it on my second watch

[princebansal1982 · 4/10 · 3 March 2013]

I hated this film when I saw it first time. I though that the little girl was a brat. But as I was watching it this time, I realized how unfair that was. She was just a girl.

I guess we are so used to watching adorable and cute kids in films, that a selfish kid seems so unlikable. But kids are like that. Selfish and impatient and whining. Once I accepted that I was laughing at her antics.

I loved the film but it lost me in the scene, when the girl's brother and the afghan kid fight. I mean there was no reason for that. I think in real life, the brother would have at least asked the afghan kid for the stick and wouldn't have just snatched it. Maybe it was done to evoke a conflict. But even one false scene can break the illusion that is Cinema.

The White Balloon is captivating!

[Penguin-7 · 9 September 1998]

I recently viewed this movie on Bravo TV and was absolutely spellbound. At first, the Farsi language threw me, but it was delightful after awhile in a melodic sort of way. Plus, the lead character is adorable. Her traumatic experience in buying the goldfish is heartrending and at the same time is enlightening. You will want to turn away for fear that she will not succeed and yet you watch because you know that she will. The movie also helps you to regain a faith in the common goodness of the human race.

Poetic, simple, genius

[tnrcooper · 10/10 · 20 February 2014]

As an elementary school teacher, the movie features the sorts of earnestness and sincerity in simple transactions and negotiations that I see every day. Making sure things go according to plan becomes less crucial as we grow older, but if we cast our minds back, we can remember how important it was to get a fair deal for our sandwich or our marbles or how important it was to treat people fairly. If you got a raw deal, you felt hard done by and if it happened enough, it might haunt you to this day. There was an acute sense that that was not how things should be. That is definitely the sense one gets from the determination of the kids in this elegant, poetic movie.

A girl wants to get a goldfish before Tehran shuts down for Iranian New Year (Nahrouz). Seems like it should go fairly simply, right? And if this was an adult telling the story, it wouldn't be notable. However, kids are more vulnerable and can be more affected by circumstances. The kids have to be a little more determined to get what they want and the child actors in this movie, Aida Mohammadkani as the little girl, Mohsen Kafili as her brother, and Aliasghar Smadi as the balloon seller were excellent.

As I saw some other reviewers say, this is a film that doesn't patronize children. It shows them using all their considerable abilities to solve problems and they often come off better than petty, small-minded, and thieving adults.

The universality and simplicity of the themes in this film make it translatable to every culture.

A must watch movie

[jntonni · 10/10 · 28 August 2020]

This movie is pure love.. Also how cute is the baby girl ma shaa Allah

Simplicity gives rise to eternal beauty.

[lediscipledessocrates · 9/10 · 11 March 2010]

The White Balloon is a movie which banks upon it's unbelievably simple story and settings. Shot almost entirely in just about three locations within a locality the movie comes across as a beautifully made spectacle of new wave cinema .

The Director does well to capture the moments in lens which come from the actors in the movie (almost all of them are children).

Natural acting and a delectable plot mark the movie.

It is sometimes quite incredible to note how such a beautiful movie comes out of a painfully simple plot, a plot which reminds us of short stories from our primary school days.

No scope for melodrama or extravagance Mr. Panahi quite ably illustrates that big budgets , exquisite locations and highly paid actors are not needed to make Exceptional movies. Movie which will stay with you for ever.

Simple is Beautiful.

Excellent film

[prasadsw · 10/10 · 9 October 2000]

I too saw this film on Bravo, I think the exceptional quality lies with the Director of this film to portray and visualise everyday life in a middle eastern country. I first thought this was a mega award winning film, but the simplicity of the actors are truly amazing. It also characterises the hardships we go through in life when we are young. I recommend this movie to anyone.