2020
PG-13
Distrib Films
2 h 5 m

2020
PG-13
Distrib Films
2 h 5 m

Summary In the summer of 1979, the Strelzyk and Wetzel families—who had been working on their audacious plan for more than two years—try to flee East Germany in a self-made hot-air balloon. But after the balloon crash-lands just before the West German border, the Stasi find traces of the attempted escape and immediately launch an investigation. ...

Directed By: Michael Herbig

Written By: Kit Hopkins, Thilo Röscheisen, Michael Herbig

2020
PG-13
Distrib Films
2 h 5 m

2020
PG-13
Distrib Films
2 h 5 m

Balloon

Name: Balloon
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Released: 2020-02-21
Duration: 2 min 5 s
Rating: 53
Cast: Friedrich Mücke, Karoline Schuch, David Kross, Alicia von Rittberg, Thomas Kretschmann

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 9 Critic Reviews

User Score Generally Favorable Based on 14 User Ratings

7.5

My Score

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Where to Watch

Directed By: Michael Herbig

Written By: Kit Hopkins, Thilo Röscheisen, Michael Herbig

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 9 Critic Reviews

33% Positive
3 Reviews

67% Mixed
6 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 9 Critic Reviews

33% Positive
3 Reviews

67% Mixed
6 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Los Angeles Times

Mar 12, 2020

Filmmaker Herbig and his team prove to be especially adept at contriving situations where anything anyone does causes fear, anxiety, stress and worry, leaving everyone, very much including the audience, existing on the knife’s edge of unremitting tension.

By Kenneth Turan FULL REVIEW

Film Threat

Feb 20, 2020

The movie is a heart-on-the-sleeve, old-fashioned action-adventure thriller. This Balloon may not exactly soar, but it’ll give you a satisfyingly stirring ride.

By Alex Saveliev FULL REVIEW

TheWrap

Feb 20, 2020

It feels like an attempt to transpose the mix of thrills and prestige of a film like “Argo” onto a different true story, a paint-by-numbers approach that’s far less compelling than drawing outside the lines would have been.

By Michael Nordine FULL REVIEW

Boston Globe

Apr 16, 2020

Balloon manages to combine slickness and sentimentality, predictability and implausibility. The fact that it’s based on a true story — the closing credits include photographs of the actual families — does not make up for the amassing of red herrings, close calls, and occasions for head-scratching.

By Mark Feeney FULL REVIEW

Variety

Feb 25, 2020

Balloon is decent entertainment to a degree, and that is mostly thanks to its handsome production values.

By Tomris Laffly FULL REVIEW

The Hollywood Reporter

Feb 20, 2020

Balloon simply doesn't feature the sort of cinematic thrills necessary to keep us fully invested in the travails of its central characters. It's not that the events are depicted in anything less than bombastic, hyperbolic fashion. It's more that the filmmaker lacks the directorial finesse to calibrate the suspense for maximum cinematic effect.

By Frank Scheck FULL REVIEW

The Guardian

Feb 20, 2020

How Herbig fails to capitalise on the sheer physical terror of their flight – the balloon’s basket is more a flimsily strung boxing ring – makes you wish someone like Werner Herzog had mounted this mad escapade for real.

By Phil Hoad FULL REVIEW

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User Reviews

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User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 14 User Ratings

7.5

86% Positive
12 Ratings

7% Mixed
1 Rating

7% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

View All

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 14 User Ratings

7.5

86% Positive
12 Ratings

7% Mixed
1 Rating

7% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company herbX Film, StudioCanal, SevenPictures Film

Release Date Feb 21, 2020

Duration 2 h 5 m

Rating PG-13

Genres

Tagline Für die Freiheit riskierten sie alles. (For freedom they risked it all.)

Website https://balloon-movie.jp/

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Awards

German Film Awards

• 2 Nominations

Washington DC Filmfest

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

St. Louis International Film Festival

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Balloon

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Friedrich Mücke

Peter Strelzyk

Karoline Schuch

Doris Strelzyk

David Kross

Günter Wetzel

Alicia von Rittberg

Petra Wetzel

Thomas Kretschmann

Oberstleutnant Seidel

Jonas Holdenrieder

Frank Strelzyk

Tilman Döbler

Andreas 'Fitscher' Strelzyk

Christian Näthe

Hauptmann Heym

Till Patz

Peterchen Wetzel

Ben Teichmann

Andreas Wetzel

Ronald Kukulies

Erik Baumann

Emily Kusche

Klara Baumann

Sebastian Hülk

Oberfeldwebel Lesch

Gernot Kunert

Oberstleutnant Schirra

Ulrich Brandhoff

Oberstleutnat Tornow

Peter Trabner

Apotheker

Bernd Michael Lade

Witzke (Oberst)

Kai Ivo Baulitz

Strehle (Leutnant)

Bernd Stegemann

Werner Meissner (SED-Kreisleiter)

Antje Traue

Kindergärtnerin (Ulrike Piehl)

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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