Remembering “The Red Balloon ”

I watched the film The Red Balloon as a child and was deeply moved by it. It must have keyed into my landscape of hope and loss. The redness of the balloon seemed to stand for brightness and friendship against the loneliness and greyness of the city and everyday life. But to me it appeared that if you got attached to a place, person or thing there was the danger you could lose it. Though the film held out some promise of a happy ending, I think I was less aware of that at the time.