An overriding sense of paranoia and desperation pervades the entire movie, and those who take freedom for granted ought to stop a moment to consider the overwhelming fear that citizens of socialist countries face merely by conducting their day to day lives. The idea is reinforced time and time again throughout the story, as with the arrest of the border patrol agents who failed to identify the threat of the first failed balloon crossing attempt, or the young boy's response to his teacher that he wasn't allowed to reveal what his father was sewing. The constant looking over one's shoulder to see who was watching or who might have overheard a conversation is the kind of stress that no one should have to endure to live a normal life. The actions taken by the East German Stasi were chilling to say the least, and it required an unusual amount of courage and dedication to follow through with a second escape attempt after the first one failed so excruciatingly short of the mark. With a no name cast in this country, director Michael Herbig brings a tale of considerable bravery to the screen which pulsates with tension the closer the Strelzyk and Wetzel families approach their ultimate goal. Occurring during the summer of 1979, the event took place a full decade prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, which presaged the end of communism in Eastern and Central Europe.
Review of Balloon
