Balloon 12A

Balloon is set in 1980s Tibet, where couple Dargye and Drolkar's boisterous young sons have blown up their condoms like balloons. Not only does this outrage their entire village, but more practically, they have no more condoms. The shepherd couple already have three sons, and as China has recently introduced its one-child policy, they can't have any more. China's one-child policy was relaxed in 2015, allowing space for films to examine the consequences of the measure. Pema Tseden takes a drily comic approach to the subject, and with its cool colour palette, handheld camerawork and painterly passages, Balloon approaches its themes with a sense of wonder.