The Black Balloon
The Black Balloon (2008)
Sometimes it's hard to be the odd one in.
Starring Toni Collette, Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford
Directed by Elissa Down
Thomas is turning 16. His dad's in the army and they've just moved to a town in New South Wales; his mom is pregnant; his older brother, Charlie, who's autistic, has his own adolescent sexual issues. Thomas finds Charlie an embarrassment in public, so when Thomas is attracted to Jackie, a girl in his swim class, Charlie presents any number of obstacles when she drops by their house, when the three of them go for a walk, and during a family birthday dinner. Can Thomas find a way to enter the world of teen romance and still be his brother's keeper, or is Charlie's disability going to prove more than Thomas can handle?

Runtime: 97 min.     Rating: 6.8     DVD
Languages: English
Countries: Australia
Genres: Drama
Keywords: birthday,autism,sydney, australia,family dinner,swimming,first love,social services,woman director
Cast
   Maggie Mollison
   Thomas Mollison
   Charlie Mollison
   Jackie Masters
   Miss Babb
   Mr. Masters
   Sally
   Chris