Plot: Suzanne is charming but she is a mother snowed under by obligations. With her puppet shows, the classes she teaches, and two children whom she has been raising alone since their father left, she hasn't got a minute to herself. To help her, she takes in a young Taiwanese babysitter, Song Fang, who is a student at the University of Paris. On his way home from school, Simon, who is 7 years old, leads her through the streets and cafés of his neighborhood. Soon, Song Fang and Simon share an imaginary world: a strange red balloon follows them, even in the exhibition space of the Musée d'Orsay. While Suzanne is caught up in a court case involving her tenant downstairs who refuses to leave, every day, Son Fang becomes more important in her life. In the end, it is Song Fang's Asian perspective that helps Suzanne get to grips with her life.
Alternative Plot: As a single mother in Paris, Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) struggles to spend enough time with her young son, Simon (Simon Iteanu), between her job voice-acting at puppet shows and handling a court case against her downstairs tenant (Hippolyte Girardot), who refuses to leave. As a result, Suzanne hires Song (Song Fang), a local university student, to watch Simon while she works and deals with the case. Together, Simon and Song create a vibrant world of imagination, where a red balloon follows them.
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