The Balloonist (2025)
Original title: De Ballonvaarder
Director: Tim Oliehoek
Writer: Benny Lindelauf
Stars: Sallie Harmsen, Pieter Embrechts, Beau Minnaert
Plot: Gaby, a heritage chicken keeper, is turned upside down when an arrogant air balloon pilot crashes on her chicken coop. The crash reveals the roots of a family conflict and forces Gaby to confront the air balloon pilot as well as her past.
* * *
The Balloonist (2025) | Transcript
[Mientje] Bouillon! Where are you?
[rooster crows]
[Pie] Bouillon!
[footsteps]
[Pie mutters]
[frantic clucking]
[Pie] Come back here. Come on!
[sighs]
[clucking]
[Pie] Go that way. Cut him off!
Bouillon!
Oh. No, no. No.
Come back. [pants] Bouillon!
GODFRIED OF BOUILLON BOUILLON IS THE PRETTIEST OF THE SHOW RAAYMAKERS TO ENTER DUTCH CHAMPIONSHIP WITH BOUILLON
[sighs]
[Mientje] Oh, dear, get him down!
He’ll hurt himself.
[Pie] I know! I know! I need a ladder.
Come here. Lean it against the tree right here.
[Mientje] Be careful.
[Pie] Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
[exhales] I got you.
Yeah, yeah.
[Pie] Come here, Bouillon.
[exhales]
[Pie grunts]
Oh! Oh! Shh!
[shaky breathing]
Come on. Come here. There.
[clucking]
[Mientje pants]
Gaby, what… what are you doing?
[sighs] [pants]
[both grunt]
Oh.
[grunts softly]
Gaby…
[grunts] [clucking] No, stop it. Oh!
[clucking] Oh! Oh!
[exasperated sigh]
[pants]
Gaby. Sweetheart, you have to stay, please.
Do it for me.
[soft clucking]
Here you go. Come here.
[soft clucking]
[pants, grunts]
[grunts]
[Pie] Mientje!
[thumping]
THE BALLOONIST
[clucking]
[insects buzzing]
PRESENT DAY
[clucking]
[♪ Gentle church music]
[woman imitates rooster crowing]
[woman imitates rooster crowing]
[♪ Gentle church music]
[grunts]
[mutters incoherently]
[whimpers]
[mutters]
[clucking]
[clucking]
[clucking]
[brakes creak] [exhales]
[clucking]
[sighs]
[soft clucking]
[child giggling]
[frantic clucking]
[chuckles]
[laughs]
[Kuif laughs]
[Gaby] Kuif?
Kuif, did you let Bouillon out of his coop?
No.
How many more times do you need to be told?
You know he’ll just run away.
He’ll fly away.
[Gaby] Kuif, chickens don’t fly.
Bouillon has to stay in his coop.
Yeah? Are we clear?
No!
[sighs]
Okay, come here. Come here!
[groans] Goddamn it, Kuif!
Come here.
[Kuif giggles] Grandma is the boss!
Grandma is the boss!
[Kuif giggles]
[footsteps climbing stairs]
Call me when you’re done, okay?
[sighs]
[clatter of plate being filled]
Kuif, no chocolates for breakfast.
[clatter of china]
Yeah, sure. Just wreck the entire kitchen.
[thumping]
[distant grunting] Kuif?
Kuif!
I didn’t do anything!
[breathes heavily]
[man] Oh, no!
Come on! Come on!
Ah, no!
Oh, damn! Come on!
Oh, holy shit!
Oh, damn! Oh, no!
Oh, no! Goddamn it!
Are you kidding me?!
[grunts]
Oh, no.
I hope for you you got a permit for this?
What?
A permit, for that chicken shed.
Oh, damn it. Oh, what a mess. [groans]
[rooster crowing]
Oh! Oh, no!
[clucking] Goddamn.
Oh, just look at my balloon!
Your balloon? What about my chickens?
Oh, fucking chickens.
Hey!
What’s that shed doing on my property?
What?
That shed’s standing on my land, ma’am.
Your land?
[grunts]
Go piss off!
[mother imitates rooster]
I said piss off!
[imitates rooster] [man] Hey!
Don’t you dare, kid.
You’re not gonna tell him to stop?
Are you going to allow your son to…?
Yes.
[both laugh] The next one will hit.
Monsieur.
[laughing]
What do you mean, in writing?
Huh?
Since when do we need things in writing?
One second.
Batteries, um…
Herman, let me do it. Come on. Come on.
Here.
Yeah, yeah.
[sighs]
[grunts] [beeping] Say something.
One something, two…
Yeah, that’s better.
No, Herman. I don’t have it in writing.
[Herman sighs, clears throat]
Sir… can I take a look at what you got here?
[man] Yeah, yeah, I get that.
Well, I don’t think there’s much to talk about.
Look, look, I got the papers here.
It’s about this parcel of land. No, no.
She has no right to build anything on here.
[Herman] Okay.
The coop’s on his property.
Bullshit.
Yeah. He’s leasing it from Bessems there.
Bessems? That coop’s been there for 30 years, Herman. 30 years!
If you just had that in writing…
Jesus, Herman. Are you deaf or what?
[chattering over radio]
Okay.
Oh, and Gaby?
Huh?
I didn’t see that. Not today.
Tomorrow’s a different story, okay?
Fuck.
Kuif!
[man] Hey. Hey, hey.
Stop the car. Stop the car! Hey, hey! Are you crazy? Stop it!
Bye, hon.
Bye, mom! Bye!
Hat on.
Do you ever turn this thing on?
You need to hurry. There’s a herd of Germans coming in and they can’t get in their rooms yet. Yilderim’s going nuts.
[in German] I’d like to go to my room now.
[in German] Uh, of course. I understand…
[in English] You want your rooms.
[in German] We’re very sorry.
But if you wait in the lobby, we’ll have your room ready in a minute.
Thank you for your patience.
Bouillon?
[in Turkish] Good Lord.
[in English] Throw that chicken in the soup. Go on.
Get to work. And, Gaby, this ends today.
Three problems in one month is too much, you know.
Guten Tag, Auf Wiedersehen, that’s all the German I know.
I don’t want to keep cleaning rooms my whole life.
[grunts] Sorry.
Didn’t get much sleep?
He worries when I don’t get enough sleep.
He worries about the baby, because there must be something wrong with the baby.
We would’ve gone extinct ages ago if men ever had to worry about giving birth.
[chuckles]
[man] A little bit more. A little more.
Stop! Stop, yeah, that’s fine.
[man] Okay. And stop. Yeah. Okay.
That’s fine. Yeah, all good.
[mother shrieking yelling]
[mother yells]
Everything okay?
She didn’t want to walk again. I’m done.
[mother clucks like a chicken]
Mom! [sighs] Mrs. Zelissen?
Mrs. Zelissen.
Here. Uh, some extra for the trouble.
Come on, please.
[sighs]
You happy now?
Suit yourself then. You can be alone if you want.
And if you need to use the john, you can do it yourself.
Shit.
Fuck.
Oh!
[Kuif] I hate you!
Kuif!
[grunts and yells angrily]
[Gaby sighs]
Do you want me to be the polar bear hunter?
No!
You can shoot me, then.
I promise you I’ll die very slowly.
No, go away!
Hm? Hey.
You always forget about me.
[Kuif gasps]
I’ve got mail from Papa.
You want to read it?
[Kuif gasps]
[whispers] Look.
Pretty, huh?
Yeah.
“My sweet boy. Today, I’ve spotted 10 enormous polar bears.”
That’s a new record!
One of them got a little too curious.
I was trying to film it, when it suddenly got too close.
Luckily, we had our snowmobiles, so we got out of there as quick as possible.
The temperature here also set a new record.
“Last night, it was minus 52 degrees Celsius.”
[fake shiver]
[gasps] Cold.
Whoa, that’s really cold.
Aren’t you glad you’re here instead? Huh?
Yeah?
“I’ve received your drawing. It’s beautiful.”
PS. The polar bears also had a little baby.
It still had some baby fur on its head.
“Try to guess which name I gave him.”
It starts with a K and it ends with a F.
Do you know what it is?
[Kuif] That’s easy.
Really?
A K and an F… that’s my name!
You’re so good at this!
How did you get so smart?
[♪ Upbeat pop music
playing on radio]
[interference]
[indistinct voice on radio]
[♪ Church music plays]
[door opens]
SKYE BALLOONS
[breathes unevenly]
AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING FIRM CRANES FOR RENT POND CLEANING GRASSLAND ENHANCEMENTS
[clucking]
PRETTIEST ROOSTER FROM THE CENTER NETHERLANDS REGION
[clock ticking]
SKYE BALLOONS YOUR UNFORGETTABLE TRIP TO THE HORIZON
[grunts]
Hey! Hey!
Keep your filthy hands off my damn tree!
Ma’am, this tree isn’t yours. It’s on my property.
Understood?
The tree is mine.
Uh…
[chainsaw whirs]
Hey, hey! Hey! What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy Ma’am, please, back off, otherwise somebody might get hurt.
I don’t need an accident.
[chuckles] Accidents, yeah. Heaven forbid.
[breathes heavily]
[starts engine]
Oh. Oh, no. Hey, no!
[banging]
[clatter of wood falling]
Okay. So you slammed into this man’s home while driving at high speed by accident?
By accident!
And you… you shifted into reverse and, uh, ended up hitting that billboard?
By accident.
[sniffs]
[sighs] You really need to relax, Herman.
Yeah.
No one can keep going like this.
There’s a lot that can go wrong.
Herman.
Look, sepsis, hydrocephalus, a breech birth.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
Babies are just so…
Enough of that! That’s enough. Okay?
Um…
Can we maybe focus on the fact that this nice woman here has wrecked my stuff?
Mother…!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Relax.
Gaby.
Herman.
You can’t destroy anything belonging to your neighbor.
It was an accident.
Even if it was an accident.
Voila. There you go.
And you, uh, Mr… Vleugelers.
[French accent] Vleugelers. It’s, uh, actually French. Vleugelers.
Vleuzjuhlay.
Oh.
Vleuge…
“Zj”, Herman. “Zj”.
Vleugelers, yeah?
Yeah. Yeah.
Something like that.
Okay.
Well, in the future, I suggest you and your neighbor talk things through before you start doing things on your own, such as, uh, sawing ladders in two.
Uh…
If you had gotten acquainted, you would’ve known that chestnut tree is a…
That’s none of your business.
…sore subject.
That’s none of his business, Herman.
So, uh, what do we do?
Shake hands. Make friends.
[snorts] Pardon.
Yeah.
And what about the damage?
There’s no damage.
If there was any damage, which isn’t the case, that’d mean I’d have write a report that’s maybe 10 pages minimum.
Given my situation right now, I don’t have the energy or the time for this.
Is that clear?
So?
[sighs]
Jeez. That’s fine. Don’t do it. See if I care. Whatever.
[chattering over police radio]
[♪ Pop music playing on radio]
LAND REGISTER AND PROPERTY BORDERS LAND REGISTER
[door opens]
[mother coughs, clears throat]
[mumbles grunts]
[clears throat]
[music stops, interference, tuning radio]
[radio goes in and out of tune]
[♪ Church music plays]
[hums along]
[frustrated sigh]
[church music fails to tune in]
[hums] Ah!
[♪ Church music plays]
[hums along]
ARCTIC EXPLORER DEAR KUIF
[clucking]
Go on. Fly.
Fly. You have to go like this.
Come on. You can do it.
Come on… [sighs]
[clucking]
[engine starts]
[clucking]
[mother imitates rooster]
[Gaby groans softly]
[mother imitates rooster]
[Gaby grunts softly, breathes unevenly]
[mother gibbers]
[yells frantically]
[mother whimpers, gibbers]
[clucking]
[♪ Church music plays on radio]
Does he do that a lot?
About once a week.
Why?
I don’t know. He wants to kill himself.
Coffee?
No, I’m good.
Could you pour me one of those?
Okay.
[♪ Church music on
radio out of tune]
[music stops, tuning radio]
[♪ Music in French plays]
[music stops, tunes radio]
[♪ Church music plays]
[rumbling]
[rumbling]
Do you know your son’s in the freezer?
[grunts softly]
How many more times did I tell you to not sit in the freezer like that?
How long, Mama? How long?
How long, mommy? How long?
My God.
How long, Mama?
22 minutes and 34 seconds.
Whoa, that’s good, right?
Real good. Now get in the bath.
It was 10 minutes longer than last time.
[Gaby] Come on.
I’m the best at this!
Yeah.
[Kuif] You can’t do that, right, Mama?
[Gaby] No, I sure can’t.
Come on. Let’s get you…
[water running]
Why does he do that?
Huh?
Why is that what he does?
What do you mean why is this what he does that?
He wants to know how long he can stay in the freezer before he freezes to death.
Your wine.
It’s frozen?
From a tray.
Out of the freezer?
It was a good year.
So, why pour out the wine and put it in the freezer if you liked the year so much?
To make sure it stays a good year.
You make these?
Mmhmm.
Snow globes?
They’re not snow globes.
Um…
I hate snow.
[spanks]
First, from now on, you keep your hands off that tree.
And second, 20 meters behind the coop is your terrain.
Yeah, I’ll agree to the first, but from 10 meters.
15.
Okay.
And three…
What three?
I didn’t say three.
Yeah, I did.
Three, you’ll have dinner with me.
[guffaws, snorts] What? Why not?
What? You and I?
I mean you, your son, her.
All of you come over and then we have dinner together.
Your mother, your son, and you.
That’s three, all right?
Three.
[scoffs]
[narrator] The uncompromising wind…
The uncompromising wind can quickly reach speeds up to 120 kilometers an hour.
And there are many other dangers one must navigate, including snow storms, cracks in glaciers and polar bears.
Wow.
[sniffs] What are you doing, Mommy?
[giggling] I’m going to eat you right up!
[giggles]
In these areas, temperatures can drop to minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Minus 40? But Papa’s postcard said it was minus 52.
Well… [growls]
[giggles] It’s cold, huh?
Huh? Do you like the new sign?
THE BATTLE OF THE EAST
Yeah.
[in French] We were told the Battle of the East is on July 10th, but apparently that’s incorrect.
Uno momento.
Yas.
[in French] But do you have a solution?
We made a reservation months ago.
We’d really like to go there, but we’re exhausted. Can you help us?
Yas?
Yas?
Yas?
Want to guess whose arm is getting chopped off?
Yilderim.
Yilderim? So, he’s the marshal?
Yeah, the last three years he’s avoided it and now he’s taken the hit.
Well, that’s nice.
Think he’ll be deaf or what?
Who? Yilderim?
Oh, honey.
Last night, he was googling it. He wanted to know how likely it was that our child will be deaf. I said, “I don’t want to know. We’ll see.”
He says I’m insensitive.
What does he know?
Then we started arguing and I don’t back down.
If he’s this worried about it now, how will he be when the baby gets here?
Yas.
What?
The broom.
Hey.
It’ll be okay.
I mean, he’s Herman, right?
Herman just wants things to be fixed, right away.
He can handle a fight between neighbors, or a cat stuck in a tree, but when it comes to this, he can’t do anything but wait.
But trust me, when that child finally comes… you’ll be fine.
[gasps softly] Shit, how’s your French?
Yilderim’s stuck with a mad French guy.
Pas de problème.
[chuckles] I didn’t order this.
Raaymakers.
What is this?
Wait a second.
What is that, Momma?
A chicken cote.
Sorry?
It’s a new chicken cote.
What is that?
It’s a chicken coop.
Why does he keep calling it a chicken cote?
It’s just a bunch of boards.
It’s a building kit.
It’s a do-it-yourself kit. [grunts] Unfortunately, it won’t do anything by itself.
What it means is that you have to be the one to build it.
[Kuif] Haha! That’s easy!
[Vleugelers chuckles] You think so?
[Kuif] So where are we going to build this thing?
Over here?
Yup, over here.
[Kuif mutters, grunts]
[Kuif] This one goes…
[grunts]
[Kuif] Okay.
And this one goes… [grunts] Okay, okay. [grunts] Kuif, leave that lone.
[grunting roar] Kuif, take it easy. Kuif.
Okay. [grunts] Kuif, put that down.
I know what I’m doing!
[Gaby] Hey.
Let him do his thing.
[Kuif] This one goes here, and that one goes there!
Yeah?
[Kuif grunts]
[Kuif hums]
Very nice.
We can take it from here.
Yeah, Momma. Let us do our thing.
[Vleugelers] So, those walls are sturdy?
Yeah.
Okay, nice.
I’ll hammer this one in.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, you do that.
Right there.
Don’t you think it’s too small for all the chickens?
We can fix that later.
‘Cause we could also build on this side.
We can expand it.
Yeah. That’s a very good idea.
[Vleugelers] That’s good.
That’s good. Give it a big push.
Yeah, okay.
[grunts]
[Vleugelers] Put it in place.
Yeah.
So, what’ll we do next, the roof? Okay, that’s it.
[grunt] Oh! Oh! Oh, oh!
[frustrated grunt] Hey, buddy, it doesn’t matter.
Come here. Take it easy. Hey, buddy.
[grunts] It’s all right. Don’t you worry. Come here.
I’ll give you my cap, so, from now on, you are the captain, okay?
The coop’s going to be great.
Look. These are the original pins, but we don’t need them.
You’re right. This is way better, especially with the slide and the pool for the chickens and all.
Yes!
Hah, yeah, okay.
[both chatter happily]
Mom! Mom! Look! Come on, Mom!
[grunts softly] Wait a second.
Mom!
Yes, I’m coming.
Let’s go! Come on!
Right behind you.
Come on, Momma! Hurry!
As you can see, we took some inspiration from the early works of Le Corbusier.
The truth?
Certainly, the most unique coop ever built.
Yeah!
Hey, hey!
[all chuckle]
And he can enter through here. Come on.
And here’s a little nest for him to sleep in.
And, oh. And… and I can…
And if I want to, I can climb up here and stand guard.
This is a castle.
Bouillon will love it!
Are we going to paint it?
You want to paint it?
Yes.
Okay, what’s your favorite color?
Bouillon!
Bouillon?
Look, Mommy! Look!
[Gaby] Wow. Looks beautiful. You certainly put in a lot of effort.
[Gaby laughs]
[chattering and laughter]
[clucking]
The most beautiful balloon trip I’ve ever made was probably… in Myanmar.
Yeah. With the Intha tribe.
That’s a tribe that lives high up in the mountains, near a big lake.
And they don’t just live close to it, but actually on top of the lake.
Wow.
In stilt houses.
And if you take off there, at night, before the sun rises, when it’s completely dark… what you’ll see is totally stunning.
[Kuif] Wow! What is it?
Okay, Kuif, imagine this.
You take off when in the black of night.
Yeah.
And when you look up, you see millions of twinkling stars.
And when you look down over the edge of the basket, you know what else you’ll see?
No.
Another sky full of stars.
[Kuif] How’s that possible?
Aha.
It’s the fishermen.
Huh?
They take their boats on the water, with the lights turned on to attract fish.
Wow. Yeah.
Smart, huh?
And uh, what, uh… what’s this supposed to be?
Uh, meatballs.
Uh…
Yeah, Mom. Duh.
Didn’t your mother want to come?
Only chicken for Grandma.
Only chicken?
Yeah.
With?
Chicken.
Grandma used to eat everything.
But a while ago Grandpa fell out of a tree after Bouillon was trying to get into it.
And then he was just dead.
And then Grandma got sick, and that’s when she started to only eat…
Yeah.
He really doesn’t need to know all that. Okay?
Can you see the North Pole?
The North Pole?
Yes, my dad lives there.
He used to live with me and Mom, but then he heard there were some bad guys who wanted to shoot all the polar bears.
And he went there like…
[imitates explosion]
And then he said, “You have Momma, but the polar bears don’t have anybody” to take care of them.”
Yeah. Really?
Yeah, I know, right?
Oh.
It was, uh, delicious. Kuif?
Right now?
Yeah. You have school tomorrow.
I also made dessert.
Dessert!
We’ll take it with us. Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you for the nice dinner.
My pleasure, really.
Salut, Capitaine.
Yeah, salut.
Come on, Mom.
[♪ Church music plays]
[clock ticks]
[mumbles]
Yes, you can.
[mumbles incoherently]
[mutters] Don’t.
[mother grunts angrily] [Gaby] Just grab them.
[frustrated mumbling]
You can try. You can at least try.
Nothing will happen.
I’m standing right here.
[mutters angrily, pants]
[distressed muttering]
[♪ church music plays]
[grunts]
Swallow them.
[on radio] God has given us another beautiful day.
[grunts]
Let us bask again in the glory of his righteousness.
This is Christian WGAM.
[♪ church music plays]
[trickle of urine]
[sighs]
Nice.
[clink of glasses]
[sighs]
Apologies. It’s, uh, bottled.
[Gaby chuckles]
Why would anyone be a balloonist?
The wind.
[chuckles] The wind?
Yeah.
It’s like life itself. You’re planning to go in a certain direction, and then the wind…
[imitates gust of wind]
Blows you a totally different way.
Nothing you can do. It’s not like you can’t fight it.
The wind… wins always.
Yeah, it can smack you in the face.
But it can lift you up as well.
Like you’re floating and… flying so high… makes you forget about life down here.
[inhales deeply]
And it makes feel like you… could almost touch heaven.
Almost doesn’t count. [clears throat] Almost doesn’t mean anything.
[man clears throat in distance]
[Vleugelers] Is he always walking?
Mmhmm.
Where does he go?
You can kiss me if you want.
Yeah, you don’t have to. [clears throat] Yeah, okay, that’s enough.
[clucking, squawking]
[Kuif] Mommy, mommy, get him out.
[Gaby] Settle down. It’ll be fine.
But what if they try to kill him, though?
No, they will not.
They just need to get used to each other. Huh? It’s the same with people.
Hm.
Look at them.
Bonjour!
We got new chickens.
You should come look.
Don’t worry. They’re not trying to kill each other.
They’re just trying to get used to everything. Right, Momma?
Yeah.
Go play for a bit.
Okay. I’m going to go shoot Grandma!
Finally!
Good luck, Capitaine.
[Gaby] Okay. Come on, sweetie.
Will 300 be enough to cover the chickens?
Yeah.
Great.
Thank you.
Oh, uh, the scissors.
Sorry?
Bottom left in the chest.
[Gaby] Yeah, thank you.
Doesn’t that hurt?
No, it’s, uh…
It’s kind of like cutting their nails.
[chickens squawking]
[exhales]
Not now.
Not here.
[Kuif laughs] [fake groaning]
[♪ Blues music plays]
[footsteps]
[Vleugelers] That’s a fossil from Colombia.
It came out of the jungle.
That is a Peruvian totem.
It’s, uh, supposed to offer protection against evil, bad harvests… hair loss…
You’re making that up.
Have you ever seen a balding Peruvian?
Uh-huh.
Um…
One, this stays with you and me. And no one else.
Two, outside this door, we’re only neighbors.
And three, this means nothing.
[breathes heavily]
This means nothing.
Do we have a deal?
[chuckles softly]
[Vleugelers pants softly]
[Gaby grunts softly]
[breathing heavily]
[both breathe heavily]
[grunting softly]
May God’s heaven witness my noble ser… serve… observe evidence… of my angelic courage…
May God’s heavens fully witness the noble proof of my angelic courage on this day.
Come on. Let me.
There.
You’ll be fine.
[cheesy piped music plays]
[door lock beeps]
[sighs]
[rumble of washing machines]
[sniffles]
[frustrated grunt]
Hey. Let me help you. Okay.
That button!
[sniffles, sighs]
Are you good?
Everything’s fine, okay?
It’s better like this.
You’ve been doing it on your own, right?
[whispers] Yas.
You’ve been with Herman 11 years.
[whimpers] Yeah.
[sobs softly]
Hey.
[sobs] Here.
Hey. You got to talk to him.
He won’t touch me because he’s afraid he’ll hurt the baby.
Talk to him, Yas.
He won’t listen.
Yeah, uh, talk louder.
You’ve managed to do it alone, right?
Look how Kuif turned out…
I mean, he turned out…
[sighs]
[sobs]
Look at me. I’m whale.
What? No.
Hey.
[sobs]
You’re not a whale.
[knocking]
[sighs]
[breathes heavily]
How do you know?
[sniffles]
How’d he know?
[sobs, laughs]
[sobs]
[Herman] I’ll pay for it.
I’m sorry I got mad…
Better?
[Yas] I know. I know. I know, honey.
Yeah.
[sighs] God give me patience.
Give us all patience.
[Herman and Yas chattering indistinctly]
[Vleugelers] Hey, Kuif. Is that better?
Yeah.
[tunes radio]
What are you two doing?
[both] Shh!
[clumping on roof]
[tuning radio]
[smashing]
[gasps] Holy shit!
[Vleugelers] What about now?
Shh!
[tuning radio]
[presenter] Well, the sun is shining and thanks to that, as well as some hot air coming in…
[laughs] we’ll be seeing a significant increase in temperature across that region.
That might be the start…
[tuning radio]
And now…
[♪ church music plays]
Oh.
[contented sigh]
[clump of footsteps]
Well, we got that fixed.
Très bien, mon capitaine.
Hey, well done, mate.
[chuckles] Oh, you’re home.
Yeah.
I’m home, yeah.
I, uh… I mean we just made the radio reception a bit better.
Can we go up in it?
Go up in what?
The balloon.
I thought coming up with me some time could be fun.
If you want to.
Okay, um…
Should I walk you out?
Sure.
Capitaine. [clicks tongue] Mm.
[sighs] Gaby, I just wanted to help…
No.
[Kuif hums]
Bouillon, I’m going to get you.
[sighs] It’s only a radio.
No.
You know what your problem is?
You never trust anything or anyone.
Correct.
[Kuif] To the car!
So you know.
[Kuif] You will learn how to fly!
I don’t trust anyone.
And I’ve lived this long.
And that’s enough for you? That you’re alive?
[Kuif] Come on! Fly! Use your wings!
Yeah.
That’s enough, yeah.
[scoffs]
[breathes heavily]
[Kuif] Go on, fly! You got to!
And you think that’s enough for him too?
[Kuif] Yeah, like, this. [grunts] Come on. Fly!
[clucking] You’re not going to get hurt!
I’m right here! Come on, fly!
[Kuif] Come on. Why aren’t you trying?
[Kuif grunts, pants]
[Kuif laughs]
It’s so big in here!
[Vleugelers] So, welcome, everybody here in my beautiful balloon cathedral.
As you can see, we’re inflating cold air now into the balloon.
And don’t you worry.
It won’t fly away.
We need hot air before, uh, we can take off, of course.
So, don’t be afraid. That’s why we’re not using hot air now.
[Kuif laughs]
And when I pull this thing…
Whoa.
Then we go up.
Now? Now? Now?
No, no, no, but really soon, mon capitaine.
Aw!
No, the balloon is full.
[Kuif] Tomorrow?
Yeah, they can get in on the other side.
Tomorrow you have school, hon.
[Kuif] Aw. The day after?
Hey, how about this weekend?
[gasps]
Can Bouillon come?
Sure, why not?
And Grandma!
[Gaby] Well, Kuif, I…
I don’t think Grandma…
Mm?
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Just to try?
No, not a chance.
Aw!
Mom has a fear of heights.
No, no way.
[Kuif] No, she does.
It’s impossible to be afraid of heights in a hotair balloon. It’s impossible.
Didn’t you know? There is scientific proof of this.
You can only experience fear of heights if there’s contact with the ground.
For instance, if you were, uh, trying to climb up a tree or walk up a church tower.
Sure, but not in a hot air balloon.
Your brain is willing to accept that the bottom of the basket is the ground under your feet, so you rise up… but your brain thinks you’re still on the ground.
[inhales deeply]
Oh, well, it’s like you were saying… for some people being alive is enough.
Here we go!
Whoa!
I’ll go.
[gasps] What was that?
I’ll go up with you.
Promise?
Yeah, I promise.
What she say, Kuif?
Promised.
She fruffets?
No, promised.
She vomits?
No, she promised.
[Vleugelers] Ah, she promised!
Yeah. Bye.
[Vleugelers] Salut, capitaine.
♪ There’s nothing coming
The signs we’re wanting ♪
♪ There’s nothing coming now
Are you ready? Are you ready? ♪
♪ There’s nothing coming
Don’t you start running ♪
♪ There’s nothing
coming now… ♪
♪ Wow ♪
[clucking]
♪ I said, are you
ready? Are you ready?
Fly. Come on! Come on! Fly.
[clucks] Wow, again.
♪ Sometimes there might be
No sparkle in your life ♪
♪ No swing, no buzz,
no razzmatazz ♪
♪ But if you hold on tight
Well, we’ll just decide ♪
♪ And keep on dancing
through the night
♪ Got to wash that plain
old stuff Out of your act ♪
♪ And realize there’s
nothing coming ♪
♪ Signs we’re wanting ♪
♪ There’s nothing coming now ♪
Are you ready? Are you ready? ♪
♪ There’s nothing coming
Don’t you start running ♪
♪ There’s nothing coming now ♪
♪ Wow! ♪
SKYE BALLOON AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY TO THE HORIZON
♪ Are you ready? ♪
♪ Are you ready?
Are you ready? ♪
[clucking]
♪ I said, are you ready? ♪
♪ There’s nothing coming
Don’t you start running ♪
♪ There’s nothing coming now ♪
[sighs]
BEST ROOSTER IN THE DISTRICT WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
[both laugh]
I’ll get that one.
Where are we going?
[soft jazz music plays]
[contented grunt]
Not many people are in a relationship with a balloon.
Hm?
Don’t you think you should tell him?
At some point, he’s going to ask questions, you know.
Some things you shouldn’t tell your kids about.
So you’ll just keep lying to him?
He has a father.
Yeah.
So that’s not a lie.
And he’s not here.
So that’s not a lie.
Yeah, but I don’t like it.
Not now.
You can’t just do that…
Not… now.
It’s still a lie, Gaby.
You can’t just keep lying to your kid like that.
Hey, hey, hey. No, no. Come on. Stay.
Wait, don’t leave. Gaby. Gaby.
Do you have kids?
There you go.
Leave us alone.
You can go and be the perfect father somewhere else.
Don’t. Don’t you…
No. No. No!
[grunts]
[groans]
[groans, breathes heavily]
[Vleugelers sobs]
[continues sobbing]
Arnaud?
[sniffles, sobs]
[Gaby] Sorry.
Hey, sorry.
This is not going to work.
Huh?
But we can…
No.
No, it stops here. [sobs softly] You were right.
[breathes heavily]
One, this stays with you and me.
Please, don’t.
No one else.
Don’t do this. No, please.
Two, outside this door, we’re neighbors.
That’s all.
[softly] No.
And three…
This means nothing. Huh?
[Vleugelers sniffles]
[sniffles]
[♪ Church music plays]
[Kuif] We’re going up in a hotair balloon!
We’re going up in a hot-air balloon! [pants] Hat off.
Kuif, hat off.
You never let me have chocolate in the morning before.
Well… lucky you.
Huh! My binoculars!
Where’d my binoculars go?
Kuif?
Yes!
How far can I see with this?
Kuif.
Wow. It’s so close!
Come and sit down.
My stopwatch!
Come. Come here.
Come. Come sit down.
Calm… Calm down. Stop it, Kuif.
[grunts Hey, Kuif.
We’re not going.
We’re not going in the balloon.
But didn’t you promise we would.
Yeah, I know I did, but…
You already promised me we would.
Yeah.
You promise we would! I hate you!
[Gaby breathes heavily]
Say it, Ma.
Terrible mother and daughter.
Right?
[sighs]
Kuif?
[laughter of children]
Kuif, your bag.
Kuif?
[sniffles]
[sighs]
PIE RAAYMAKERS HUSBAND AND FATHER
[breathes heavily]
[sighs] [clank of gate]
[clears throat]
[sighs]
[chuckles]
[soft chuckle]
Never had much in the way of words.
Nothing.
No hello, anything.
I thought he doesn’t like me at all… a dead end.
Then he’s at my door the next day with a dead hare as a gift.
[chuckles]
And he never left after that.
[soft grunt]
Does it help?
The walking, does it help?
[sighs]
Hm.
[traditional martial music]
[♪ Cheesy piped music plays]
[grunting]
[all grunting]
[phone rings]
[sighs]
Goddamn it.
[knocks]
[breathes heavily]
[sighs]
Great. It was short notice. I know.
Kevin, would you mind telling us about what happened?
Okay. How about you wait in the hallway?
[Kuif yells angrily]
[door slams]
He reminds me of you daily.
Do you know what we used to say about you?
If she’s in a good mood, she can open the gates to heaven…
But brace yourself if it doesn’t go her way. [chuckles] Is everything with Mientje and the chickens?
He’s a lovely boy.
Eager to learn, smart.
Energetic.
When it comes to what he destroyed, I’m willing to overlook it.
And the fact that he kicked Mr. Louie, well… [grunts softly] I’m pretty sure he can handle that.
But it’s the fact he hit a child, Gaby.
I’ll have a word with him.
I’m sorry, but he needs to be suspended.
Until everything has calmed down.
[engine rattles, bangs]
[frustrated grunt]
[sighs]
[Vleugelers] Okay, let go, please.
Now you can pull from the front first.
Okay, keep going. Come on, Wouter.
Keep pulling. Keep pulling!
Yeah, okay.
[Kuif] Momma! Momma!
Momma! It’s Grandma! Come on!
[pants]
[dripping]
Oh, Mom, hey.
Don’t worry about it.
It’s just an accident.
Happens to everybody.
It’s okay. We’ll be quick.
Here. Come on. Oh.
There we go.
There…
Unbuttoning.
There.
Okay, hold on to me.
One, two, three, up! Yeah.
Uh, yes, I’ve almost got it.
Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Okay. There we go. Good.
We had trouble with the car.
[sighs] Should’ve taken that hunk of junk to the scrapyard already.
Huh.
You’ve always had such great hair.
[sighs]
You remember how I always wanted to brush it?
What would Papa say…?
[mutters]
Brush that hair.
[chuckles] Brush your hair as hard as you can.
[mutters] Not one hair will come loose.
[mutters, chuckles] He’d always look so proud, as if it was his own hair.
Hm.
[gibbers, sobs]
[continues gibbering, sobbing]
[grunts, sniffles]
I know, Momma.
[sobs] Me, too.
[sobs] I do, too.
[sobs]
[mutters sadly]
A little bit more every day.
[mutters sadly]
[sniffles]
Come on, Mom. Come on.
[sobs] Okay, hold on to me.
[Gaby grunts] Upsa.
Yes. There you go.
Okay.
Kuif, I’m lying down a minute okay?
Can you watch Grandma?
[music plays on TV]
You need to tell me when the water gets cold, okay?
[grunting, growling]
[white noise]
[grunts softly]
[inhales deeply]
Oh, Momma!
[whimpering, shivering]
[whimpering]
What’s the matter with Grandma?
Where were you?
What happened to Grandma?
You were supposed to watch her.
But I did watch her.
I’ll pull the plug.
You were supposed to warn me when the water got cold.
But it wasn’t cold!
Give me the plunger.
What happened to grandma, though?
The plunger, Kuif. Give it to me.
[grunting] It wasn’t cold.
It’s really cold where Dad is, minus 52 degrees up there.
Don’t talk about your father.
At the North Pole, it gets really cold!
Shut the fuck up about Papa!
[grunts, groans]
I want to be with Papa!
Yeah, well, you can’t.
Papa’s nicer. I’m going to leave!
Nice?
Let me tell you how nice your father is!
Your father is a piece of shit who gets girls pregnant and then disappears.
Your father has never reached out once!
No! Papa sends cards to us!
You wish he did!
[breathes heavily]
[sobs]
Kuif! Kuif?
Oh! Oh, Momma! Oh, Momma. Hey, hey, Momma.
[groans]
Gaby?
Yes, here. Here!
Momma, Momma, hey.
Come on. Momma, hey.
Come on. Come on.
Okay, easy.
Momma, hey, hey.
[Vleugelers] Hold on to me. Okay. Hold tight.
[Gaby] It’s okay.
Yes!
Momma, hey.
Yes. I got you.
[Gaby] Come on. Okay.
[Vleugelers pants] Momma, Momma, hey, hey.
It’s okay. Come on.
Come on.
[clucking]
[Kuif sniffles]
[approaching siren]
[sniffles]
[Vleugelers] I wasn’t here when it started.
I think she must have put her in the bath, and after a while…
[sniffles, coughs]
[breathes heavily, sniffles]
[breathing heavily]
[paramedic] You’re back with us. How are you feel feeling?
[mother grunts]
I need to, uh… I should go.
Yeah.
There… There’s a group I…
[gibbers in alarm]
[Kuif] Help. Help. Momma! Momma, help!
[gibbers] Help, Momma!
[gibbers in panic] [whimpers] [clucking] [all] Wait!
No!
[clucking] [yelling] Help!
Momma, help!
[panting]
[Gaby] Kuif!
[Vleugelers] Kuif! We’re coming!
[panting]
[Kuif] Help!
Kuif!
Momma!
Kuif.
Momma.
Kuif.
Momma!
Help!
Kuif!
Help! Help! Help!
Fire!
Everyone, charge!
[roaring]
[♪ Martial music plays]
Fire!
[yelling]
[yelling, grunting]
Aha! Ha!
[boom of cannon, gunfire] [yelling, grunting]
[cheering, applause]
[grunting]
May God’s heaven fully witness the noble proof of my angelic courage on this day!
[cheering]
[yelling grunting]
[cheering, applause]
Ah! [groans] [Kuif] Help!
Help!
[panting]
[Kuif] Momma!
Help! Momma!
Oh.
[murmuring] Momma!
[Gaby] Kuif.
Momma, help! Help!
Kuif.
[grunts]
[clucking]
Kuif!
[Bouillon crows]
[clucking]
[gasps]
[Bouillon crows]
[grunting, panting]
[grunts]
[Kuif] Momma!
[Gaby] Kuif.
Momma, help!
[Vleugelers] Hold on! [grunts]
[Gaby] Kuif!
[Vleugelers grunts] Hang in there!
Help, Momma.
[grunting]
[Gaby] Kuif!
[Vleugelers] Come on! [grunts]
[Kuif] Mom! Mom!
[Vleugelers] Hold on! Hold on tight.
Kuif!
[Gaby] Kuif!
[yelling]
[both grunting, groaning]
[yelling]
Come on!
[Gaby] Kuif.
[Herman] Jump!
[Gaby] Jump down! Jump!
[Vleugelers] We’ll catch you!
[Gaby] I’ll catch you!
Come on, Jump!
[grunts]
[Gaby pants]
[Kuif] What if he gets hit by a tractor or what if a fox gets him?
[Gaby] Oh, no, he won’t.
Bouillon found a nice comfy place in a tree.
And he’ll just hang out there until dawn.
Come.
Hey.
You want to know something?
About your real papa?
Mm. Is it bad?
Is what, honey?
Is it okay if you kind of hope that someone… that someone else could be your dad?
No honey. No, sweetie, nothing about that is bad.
Hey. It’s okay.
[Vleugelers] Yeah, okay, great!
Very, very good. Okay, very good.
Yes, load it up.
Okay, there we go.
There we go. Yeah. Just a little more. A little bit more.
Okay, stop, stop, stop. Okay, just… That’s it. Stop!
You can set it down. Perfect!
I didn’t want to wake you.
[sighs]
[chuckles]
What now?
He’s leaving.
Talk to him.
[sighs] He can’t hear me.
Then tell him louder.
[breathes unevenly]
Mom?
[gibbers nervously]
But how? I cannot just… I don’t…
I can’t do it. I just…
I don’t know how.
[whimpers, breathes unevenly]
[breathes shakily]
[mumbles]
You… talk to him.
[Gaby breathes shakily]
Okay.
[breathes unevenly]
[engine starts]
Kuif wants you to stay.
Just nothing for me here.
I want you to stay.
I want you to leave, Gaby.
Who is Skye?
Leave me alone.
I want you to go.
Is she your daughter?
She… was.
Hey.
No, don’t touch me.
Don’t touch me. Please leave me alone.
I’m not leaving.
No, no! Let me… Let me go!
I’m not leaving.
Don’t touch me! Get out!
Get out!
Hey.
Whoa.
[grunting]
Oh. [grunts] Oh! Oh, no! [pants] Oh, God. Oh.
Okay.
[breathes heavily] Hm.
[relieved sigh]
[sobbing]
[Bouillon crows]
[chuckles]
[Bouillon continues crowing]
[Bouillon crows]
[Kuif] Mommy, look. Bouillon!
[laugh] Yay.
[laughs]
Ha! [laughs] [clucking]
[laughter, chattering]
[Gaby] Oh, no. Not another glass.
I can’t deal with wine.
Oh!
[Kuif] Yay!
[all] Oh!
Get ready!
Wow!
Dessert!
[Gaby] That’s a beautiful dessert.
[Kuif] Aw!
Say hi.
[Kuif] Hey.
[chattering] Whoa, whoa, be gentle, okay?
You can touch him, Kuif.
[indistinct chattering] [laughs] Grr!
[laughter, chattering]
[indistinct chattering]
[Vleugelers] Solidarity.
You know, for the baby [Yas] Oh, hey, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Herman] Can you climb up there?
[Vleugelers] Yeah. Why not?
[laughing, chattering]
Oh, okay.
[indistinct chattering] [Yas] Cheers. What are we drinking to?
[indistinct chattering] [Yas] Cheers to chickens.
[Kuif] I know!
[indistinct chattering continues]
[Kuif] Yeah, he flew!
[all talk at once]
[Gaby] To all the chickens.
[laughter, chattering continues]
[clucking]
♪ Wow ♪
♪ Ae you ready ♪
♪ Ready, ready? ♪
♪ I said, are you ready? ♪
♪ Are you ready ♪
♪ Get ready ♪
♪ Sometimes there might be
no sparkle In your life ♪
♪ No swing, no buzz,
no razzmatazz ♪
♪ But if you hold on tight
Well, we’ll just decide ♪
♪ And keep on dancing
through the night ♪
♪ Got to wash that plain
old stuff Out of your act ♪
