Balloon12A
Living under the newly established rule of China’s one-child policy, a Tibetan couple must be careful not to have any more children. However, their two sons find a stash of condoms and parade them around town mistaking them for balloons. Not only does this outrage the entire village, but more practically: they have no more condoms. Pema Tseden deftly examines the collision between modernity and tradition in 1980s Tibet in this wryly humorous and award-winning drama.
Reviews
‘[A] mix of tranquillity, playfulness and a touch of melancholy becomes the evocative thread that runs through this leisurely film’
★★★★ Phuong Le, The Guardian
‘You come away not knowing if what you’ve seen was comedy or tragedy. Or maybe something else entirely.’
★★★★ David Jenkins, Little White Lies
Sorry - you missed it!
We showed Balloon between October 15, 2021 and October 22, 2021.
Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.
What else is on?
Today (Saturday 20th April)
15:45
Evil Does Not Exist 12A
1h 46m | Japanese w/ English subtitles18:15
Mothers' Instinct 15
1h 34m20:30
Io Capitano 15
2h 2m | Arabic, French & Wolof w/ English subtitlesTomorrow (Sunday 21st April)
14:45
Days of Heaven 12A
1h 34m17:15
Io Capitano 15
2h 2m | Arabic, French & Wolof w/ English subtitles20:00
Mothers' Instinct 15
Plan your visit
Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!