Helium (film)

Helium
Directed by	Anders Walter
Written by	Christian Garnst Miller-Harris Anders Walter
Starring	Casper Crump Pelle Falk Krusbæk
Cinematography	Rasmus Heise
Edited by	Lars Wissing
Release date	January 25, 2014 (2014-01-25) (Rotterdam)
Running time	23 minutes
Country	Denmark
Language	Danish

Helium is a 2014 short film by Danish film maker Anders Walter. A hospital employee telling a young dying boy about Helium; a fantastical place children can go after they die. The hospital scenes are filmed in stark realism, while lush colorful CGI is used to bring to life the little boy’s vision of Helium.

Plot

Enzo is an orderly working at a Children’s Hospital. While cleaning a hospital room he meets Alfred, a young boy who is dying. As they get to know each other Enzo tells the young boy about “Helium” a place where little boys can go to “rest up.” Alfred is excited about the idea of Helium, finding it an attractive alternative to Heaven, which he imagines is very boring. Enzo tells Alfred that to get there he will fly in an airship that will know to pick him up because of his red balloon dog.

Alfred illness worsens, and he is moved to a unit Enzo doesn’t have access to. Enzo sneaks onto the unit but is caught by the head nurse and bared from seeing ALfred. As Alfred gets worse, Enzo wonders if he is making it worse for the boy. He voices these concerns to a nurse saying, “I’m feeding him lies.” She disagrees and tells Enzo “you’re giving him hope.”

Alfred gets worse, and having no access to him, Enzo writes out “the end of the story” to have the nurse read to him. As the nurse is about to read the ending to a dying Alfred, she changes her mind and instead sneaks Enzo onto the unit to tell the rest himself.

As he tells the story, the film switches to Alfred’s point of view. With no dialogue he gets out of bed, fully dressed and goes to the window. A giant airship is waiting for him. He walks across an extended ladder from the hospital to the airship. The airship flies away, and the boy can see that the hospital windows are full of red balloon dogs.

Awards
Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
Academy Award	March 2, 2014	Best Live Action Short Film	Anders Walter Kim Magnusson	Nominated

External links

• Helium at IMDb