| Balloon | |
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&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Poster_for_Balloon_(2018).jpg) Release poster | |
| German | Ballon |
| Directed by | Michael Herbig |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | East German balloon escape |
| Produced by | Michael Herbig |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Torsten Breuer |
| Edited by | Alexander Dittner |
| Music by |
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Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 125 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Box office | $11,859,396[1] |
Balloon (German: Ballon) is a German thriller drama film directed by Michael Herbig that was released in German cinemas on 27 September 2018. The film depicts the crossing of the Inner German border by the Strelzyk and Wetzel families from the GDR to West Germany with a self-made hot-air balloon in 1979. The two families, including four children, successfully floated across the sky from Pößneck, Thuringia to Naila, Bavaria, then situated 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of the Iron Curtain. They reached a height of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) in the homemade balloon.[2]
Before making the film, Herbig was allowed to inspect the thousands of pages thick file about the balloon flight belonging to the Stasi, the former secret service of the GDR.[3] However, the film is generally seen as a thrilling action film and, according to some reviewers, lacks historical depth. Another film about the successful escape was released by Disney in 1982, during the Cold War, under the title Night Crossing.
- ^ Balloon at IMDb
- ^ "'Balloon' depicts miraculous escape from the GDR". DW. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ Le Duc, Eric (18 July 2019). "'Ballon' ✭✭✭". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 March 2021.