The Balloon

is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Yūzō Kawashima. It was adapted by Kawashima and Shōhei Imamura from a novel by Jirō Osaragi. Plot In post-war Japan, a middle aged family man connects with a woman from his past. He has two children, an arrogant son who is torn between his mistress and a new lover, and a disabled daughter who gets mixed up in the affair. Cast Masayuki Mori as Haruki Murakami Tatsuya Mihashi as Keikichi Murakami Mie Kitahara as Mikiko Mikihara Izumi Ashikawa as Tamako Murakami Michiyo Aratama as Kumiko Yamana Shirō Amakusa as Yamaguchi Sachiko Hidari as Ruiko Home media In 2018, celebrating director Kawashima's 100th birthday, the Nikkatsu studio and VOD platform MUBI collaborated on a retrospective of his work to be available to stream in the US. The Balloon was among the films that were screened.