Find Movies & TV
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
Explore
Movies & TV Shows
Most Popular
Leaving Soon
Categories
Action
Animation
Comedy
Crime
Documentary
Drama
En Español
Horror
Music
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Western
Explore
Browse Channels
Featured Channels
Crime 360
Nashville
FailArmy
Categories
Hit TV
Drama TV
Movies
True Crime
News
Sports
Reality
Classics
Sci-Fi & Action
Chills & Thrills
Comedy
Game Shows
Nature & Travel
History & Science
Food & Home
Lifestyle
Kids & Family
En Español
International
Anime+
Music
Sign In
Balloon
Directed by
Michael Herbig
PG-13
2020
2h 5m
Thriller
,
Drama
,
and more
7.5
70%
84%
7.5
Add to Watchlist
East Germany, 1979. After initially failing to flee from the East to the West in a self-built hot-air balloon, two families struggle to make a second attempt, while the East German State Police are chasing them.
More
Where to Watch Balloon
Cineverse
Free
Filmzie
Free
Pluto TV
Free
+7 more
Cast of Balloon
Karoline Schuch
Doris Strelzyk
Friedrich Mücke
Peter Strelzyk
Alicia von Rittberg
Petra Wetzel
David Kross
Günter Wetzel
Jonas Holdenrieder
Frank Strelzyk
Tilman Döbler
Andreas 'Fitscher' Strelzyk
Thomas Kretschmann
Lieutenant Colonel Seidel
Ronald Kukulies
Erik Baumann
Emily Kusche
Klara Baumann
Ulrich Brandhoff
Lieutenant Colonel Tornow
Sebastian Hülk
Senior Sergeant Lesch
Kai Ivo Baulitz
Lieutenant Strehle
Bernd Michael Lade
Colonel Witzke
Christian Näthe
Captain Heym
Timur Bartels
Private Kenner
Bernd Stegemann
Werner Meissner (SED-District Leader)
Till Patz
Peterchen Wetzel
Ben Teichmann
Andreas Wetzel
Peter Prager
Günter's Stepfather
Antje Traue
Kindergarten Teacher (Ulrike Piehl)
Balloon Ratings & Reviews
Boston Globe
Mark Feeney
The fact that it's based on a true story - the closing credits include photographs of the actual families - does not make up for the amassing of red herrings, close calls, and occasions for head-scratching.
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
Filmmaker Herbig and his team prove to be especially adept at contriving situations where anything anyone does causes fear, anxiety, stress and worry, leaving everyone, very much including the audience, existing on the knife's edge of unremitting tension.
IONCINEMA.com
Nicholas Bell
It's an often taut and efficiently paced thriller intent on maximizing its potential, even if that means employing cliché to heighten suspense.
The DC Line
Pat Padua
Captures the paranoia and excitement of its time.
National Review
Kyle Smith
Balloon revels in exploring the details of every possible kind of danger these people face, so it's a nerve-wincher, a cracking good escape thriller, but that's not all it is.
Film Threat
Alex Saveliev
It's all somewhat schematic and messy, a glossy portrait of tumultuous times. It's also quite entertaining, anchored by solid performances, and a contagiously well-meaning spirit.
Variety
Tomris Laffly
"Balloon" is decent entertainment to a degree, and that is mostly thanks to its handsome production values.
Mark Reviews Movies
Mark Dujsik
[W]hen a film establishes its stakes and creates an enveloping atmosphere of paranoia as well as this one does, accuracy doesn't really matter.
The Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck
Lacking the nail-biting suspense that the story would seem to call for, Balloon quickly deflates.
Film Festival Today
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Based on [a] true story ... the film offers a gripping narrative of derring-do and innovation, as well as [a] ... portrait of the moral rot at the heart of all authoritarian regimes.
New York Times
Jeannette Catsoulis
There is nothing objectionable about Michael Bully Herbig's glossy political thriller, "Balloon," but there's nothing particularly exciting about it, either.
TheWrap
Michael Nordine
It feels like an attempt to transpose the mix of thrills and prestige of a film like Argo onto a different true story, a paint-by-numbers approach that's far less compelling than drawing outside the lines would have been.
The Weekend Warrior (Substack)
Edward Douglas
Keeps you on the edge of your seat...
NYC Movie Guru
Avi Offer
As spellbinding, taut and poignant as The Lives of Others. It will make you stand up and cheer!
Shockya.com
Harvey S. Karten
A heartwarming look at people who gave up their property and risked their lives simply in order to flee from East Berlin to the West.
Backseat Mafia
Rob Aldam
Loses altitude quickly
Watch Balloon Videos
Balloon
Balloon
Trailer
Ballon (International Trailer 1 Subtitled)
Ballon (International Trailer 1 Subtitled)
Trailer
Take Plex everywhere
Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
