Elissa Down's "The Black Balloon" (2008)

I enjoyed the black balloon for its camera techniques more than the actual movie itself. In one of the opening shots you have Charlie jumping on the trampoline but can only see him when he comes up and in the foreground of the shot is the fence at an angle and blurred. This pretty much what they do through out the whole movie, usually either the foreground, or background is out of focus and in most shots there is a foreground object. The movie also uses pull focus as Thomas is walking down the street at night as well as a crane shot when he is outside Maggie's house. Lighting wise i liked the use of street lamps as a source of light and the use of redheads to simulate strong daylight. One thing i noticed is a small continuity error in one scene Maggie has her hair in front of her ear then it cuts quickly to Thomas for a reaction shot then back to her and her hair is now behind her ear. As a side note i thought that the acting by Luke Ford as Charlie was spectacular he came across well as being retarded and it must have taken a long time to get that perfection. Lastly Rhys Wakefield made a good Thomas and suited and conveyed the role well.