Magical image of the red balloon follows a young boy and his new Chinese film-student nanny in Paris and the balloon is a goal for them both. It brings the young woman to Paris and probably brings her to the young boy. His mother (Juliette Binoche), self-absorbed, overworked, plagued by her problems with men (she is a puppeteer and playwright is deeply immersed in her work on a play about emptying the ocean to find a true love) and tenants in her building, and her son is largely in the care of others as a result. This is a slow, soft, piece of magical realism about France today. It is never maudlin or mawkish though there is a gentle and sad cast to the film See this film