Perth Film Society: Balloon

'Balloon' by German director Michael Herbig, tells the true story of 2 families - the Strelzyks and the Wetzels - who build a hot air balloon in Thüringen, in the German Democratic Republic. The families, comprising 8 adults and 4 children, then fly their balloon on a chilly north wind over the border and into the west on 16 September 1979.

Theirs was the first-ever escape of its kind, but it followed several failures. The families avoided being caught during previous attempts, but the wreckage was found, triggering a manhunt by the Stasi secret police.

As with other film celebrations of real-life events, we have a pretty good idea how things turn out, but how the families succeed in building a more robust, weatherproof balloon without leaving too many clues under the nose of the unscrupulous Stasi commander (Thomas Kretschmann), and how close the families come to death, is told in nerve-wracking style. 

From 1961 to 1988, at the height of the Cold War, 75,000 East Germans were jailed for trying to escape to the west. More than 800 men, women and children also lost their lives at the heavily fortified border and were branded traitors by the GDR regime. 

Theirs was the first-ever escape of its kind, but it followed several failures.After the balloon escape, the GDR authorities immediately increased border security, closed all small airports close to the border, and ordered that planes be kept farther inland. Propane tanks became registered products and large quantities of fabric suitable for balloon construction could no longer be purchased.

Günter Wetzel’s (David Kross) brother Erich learned of his brother's escape on the news and was arrested in his Potsdam apartment 3 hours after the landing. He was charged with "aiding and abetting escape", as were Peter Strelzyk's (Friedrich Mücke) sister Maria and her husband, who were sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

The families settled initially in Bavaria where they landed, but after pressure from Stasi spies, the Strelzyks moved to Switzerland in 1985. After reunification in 1990, they returned to their old home in Pößneck. The Wetzels stayed in Bavaria. The balloon was put on permanent exhibition at the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte: Museum in Regensburg Bavaria in 2017.

The event was first portrayed in “Night Crossing” (1982), an English-language Disney film starring John Hurt and Beau Bridges. Childhood memories and 2,000 pages of secret files gathered on the families by the Stasi, inspired Michael Herbig to recreate this gripping historical race against time. Better known for comedies like Germany’s all-time biggest grossing movie “Manitou’s Shoe” (2001), “Balloon” is Herbig’s first thriller.

Balloon – Thursday 5 March 2020, Norie Miller Room, Perth Concert Hall

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