In this movie, Taiwanese director Hsiao-hsien Hou gives thanks and praise to Albert Lamorisse's The Red Balloon, which was made in 1956 and concerns a boy, a balloon, and the rooftops of Paris. In Hou's Flight of the Red Balloon, the boy, balloon, and the rooftops are associated with a young Chinese filmmaker (Fang Song), a mother (Juliette Binoche), and a cluttered apartment. The result is a film that gets to the truth of a balloon—its beauty and vulnerability. Each scene in the movie is in danger of going "pop!" (See movie times for details.)