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The Black Balloon (2008)
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Overview
Release Date:
6 March 2008 (Australia) moreGenre:
DramaPlot:
All Thomas wants is a normal adolescence but his autistic brother, Charlie, thwarts his every opportunity. Will Thomas, with the help of his girlfriend, Jackie (Ward), accept his brother? | add synopsisAwards:
1 win moreUser Comments:
Life is neither fair nor easy moreCast
(Credited cast) | Rhys Wakefield | ... | Thomas Mollison |
 | Luke Ford | ... | Charlie Mollison |
 | Toni Collette | ... | Maggie Mollison |
 | Erik Thomson | ... | Simon Mollison |
 | Gemma Ward | ... | Jackie Masters |
| Lloyd Allison-Young | ... | James |
 | Nathin Butler | ... | Chris |
 | Lisa Kowalski | ... | Sally |
| Firass Dirani | ... | Russell |
| Aaron Glennane | ... | Bucko |
| Andy Meritakis | ... | Daniel |
| Henry Nixon | ... | Trevor |
| Sally Evans | ... | Girl on Bus |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Kate Box | ... | Elizabeth |
| Sofia Fedirchuk | ... | Baby Sophie |
| Elle-May Patterson | ... | Kylie |
| Ngoc Phan | ... | Teacher's Aide |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
Germany:97 min (Berlin International Film Festival) | Australia:97 minCountry:
AustraliaLanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalMOVIEmeter: 
16% since last week
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| IMDb Drama section | IMDb Australia section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Life isn't easy for Thomas. Living as the younger brother in a family of four, with a fifth on the way is hard enough to begin with. It's even worse when the older brother is severely autistic and unable to care for himself in any way. So, quite naturally, Thomas struggles with growing up.
Films dealing with family lives like this only work when they show all the sides to a story and this one does it well. All the members of the family are properly introduced and their interaction is done well enough to give the impression that it is a perfectly normal family, which has a specific difficulty added to it.
The complexities of living with a mentally handicapped person are brought out well enough without ever being overly sentimental and, as far as I know from the interaction I have had with several autistic people, real enough.
All in all it is a real good film about growing up and growing up with a tremendous challenge making it harder on you. I loved it, and even more so because I know what Thomas went through from personal experience.