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Balloon
Directed by
Michael Herbig
PG-13
2018
2h 5m
Thriller
,
Drama
,
and more
7.5
70%
83%
Watch Free
East Germany, 1979. After initially failing to flee from the East to the West in a self-built hot-air balloon, two families struggle to make a second attempt, while the East German State Police are chasing them.
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Cast of Balloon
Karoline Schuch
Doris Strelzyk
Friedrich Mücke
Peter Strelzyk
Alicia von Rittberg
Petra Wetzel
David Kross
Günter Wetzel
Jonas Holdenrieder
Frank Strelzyk
Tilman Döbler
Andreas 'Fitscher' Strelzyk
Thomas Kretschmann
Lieutenant Colonel Seidel
Ronald Kukulies
Erik Baumann
Emily Kusche
Klara Baumann
Ulrich Brandhoff
Lieutenant Colonel Tornow
Sebastian Hülk
Senior Sergeant Lesch
Kai Ivo Baulitz
Lieutenant Strehle
Bernd Michael Lade
Colonel Witzke
Christian Näthe
Captain Heym
Timur Bartels
Private Kenner
Bernd Stegemann
Werner Meissner (SED-District Leader)
Till Patz
Peterchen Wetzel
Ben Teichmann
Andreas Wetzel
Peter Prager
Günter's Stepfather
Antje Traue
Kindergarten Teacher (Ulrike Piehl)
Eli Wasserscheid
Beate Baumann
Peter Trabner
Pharmacist
Tilo Keiner
Duty Officer
Nadja Engel
Günter's Mother
Tom Kreß
West Police Officer
Thomas Birnstiel
West Police Officer
Cornelius Schwalm
Jörg Franke
Franziska Theiner
Consumer Woman
Tim Williams
American
Christian Gaul
Receptionist
Beate Kurecki
Textile Saleswoman
Sebastian Schwarz
Kuhn
Angelika Koppmann
Textile Saleswoman
Sandra Lava
Helga
Stefan Kaminsky
Party Comrade
Benjamin Jorns
People's Policeman in Pößneck
Thomas Chemnitz
Forensic Scientist
Jonas Laux
Pilot
Jörn Hentschel
Joachim Breninek (Flight Instructor)
Andrea Benson
US Embassy Employee
Geoffrey Rude
US Embassy Employee
Maja Milena Palzkill
Lena
Henri Stephan
Petra's Brother
Susanne Pfeiffer
Consumer Woman
Michael Herbig
Director / Writer / Producer
Thilo Röscheisen
Writer
Kit Hopkins
Writer
Balloon Ratings & Reviews
Boston Globe
Mark Feeney
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.
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
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.
IONCINEMA.com
Nicholas Bell
It's an often taut and efficiently paced thriller intent on maximizing its potential, even if that means employing cliché to heighten suspense.
The DC Line
Pat Padua
Captures the paranoia and excitement of its time.
National Review
Kyle Smith
Balloon revels in exploring the details of every possible kind of danger these people face, so it's a nerve-wincher, a cracking good escape thriller, but that's not all it is.
Film Threat
Alex Saveliev
It's all somewhat schematic and messy, a glossy portrait of tumultuous times. It's also quite entertaining, anchored by solid performances, and a contagiously well-meaning spirit.
Variety
Tomris Laffly
"Balloon" is decent entertainment to a degree, and that is mostly thanks to its handsome production values.
Mark Reviews Movies
Mark Dujsik
[W]hen a film establishes its stakes and creates an enveloping atmosphere of paranoia as well as this one does, accuracy doesn't really matter.
The Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck
Lacking the nail-biting suspense that the story would seem to call for, Balloon quickly deflates.
Film Festival Today
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Based on [a] true story ... the film offers a gripping narrative of derring-do and innovation, as well as [a] ... portrait of the moral rot at the heart of all authoritarian regimes.
New York Times
Jeannette Catsoulis
There is nothing objectionable about Michael Bully Herbig's glossy political thriller, "Balloon," but there's nothing particularly exciting about it, either.
TheWrap
Michael Nordine
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.
The Weekend Warrior (Substack)
Edward Douglas
Keeps you on the edge of your seat...
NYC Movie Guru
Avi Offer
As spellbinding, taut and poignant as The Lives of Others. It will make you stand up and cheer!
Shockya.com
Harvey S. Karten
A heartwarming look at people who gave up their property and risked their lives simply in order to flee from East Berlin to the West.
Backseat Mafia
Rob Aldam
Loses altitude quickly
Watch Balloon Videos
Balloon
Balloon
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Ballon (International Trailer 1 Subtitled)
Ballon (International Trailer 1 Subtitled)
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