Hey folks, Harry here with a film that I have wanted to see ever since I first saw the teaser trailer and got the very first test screening report back, way before Cannes. LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE aka BELLEVILLE RENDEZVOUS which is opening in London today, lucky Brits! Every single critical word I've heard is that the film is breathtaking and wonderful and Lorelei Lee adds to that here... Don't miss seeing this one!
Dear Harry,
I don't remember seeing anything about this on the site, although it may have been reviewed during Cannes. However, "Belleville Rendezvous" (which it seems is also known as Les Triplettes de Belleville) opens in London's west end today, and I got a sneak peak last night.
This film may not initially sound appealing to very many of you. It's French for a start (although with Canadian and British input) and has virtually no dialogue. The animation reminded me of nothing so much as that middle-period Disney - The Rescuers and 101 Dalmations in particular. That doesn't really do it justice - it's more twisted than either, and the colours are sandier and sludgier than anything Disney ever produced. It is, nevertheless, completely enchanting.
The storyline involves a young boy and his grandmother, who is desperate to find something to occupy him and prevent him grieving for his parents. She tries numerous activities, buys him a puppy, everything. But he still seems depressed and she is at her wit's end. She finally discovers his passion and calling in life, and helps him with that throughout the next 20 years or so until he is one day kidnapped, and she must trail him to the fantastic city of Belleville (which resembles nothing so much as Metropolis, or better yet, London or Paris in the comics of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). There, without a coin in her purse and with only his faithful dog as a companion, she tries to find him and makes some unlikely friends along the way.
As I said, there are about four lines in the entire film, but the story doesn't need dialogue. The characters are just astoundingly good - the little grandmother, complete with hairy upper lip and the characteristic tic of pushing her glasses back on all the time; the dog and his dog dreams, shown in black and white for biological accuracy; the French Mafia, all of whom look either like the monolith in 2001 or like a drunk from the Asterix books; and the unlikely heroes of the piece, with their sinuous movements and habit of dining on frogs. Just frogs. All the time.
I really can't tell you how magic this was. I caught a screening of Spirited Away a couple of weeks ago, which STILL has not opened generally here (two more weeks campers!) and this is absolutely on the same level. I sat with a foolish grin on my face throughout and stayed through the whole of the end credits, something I rarely do (Incidentally, I do recommend staying through the credits; there's a nice little homage to a classic spoof at the very end).
This is a gorgeous looking film, with some lovely 3D mixed in with 2D in a way which should be noted by anyone who ever considers making a follow-up to Titan AE. A kid could understand it, and even the most cynical adult would find it hard not to fall in love with it.
Oh - I just did a search and found out that this has already been reviewed a few times. All I can say is, if Bend it like Beckham and 28 Days Later get repeat reviews, this one deserves repeated reviews. And repeated viewings. And then a purchase on DVD. Special edition. For one's entire Christmas list.
Lorelei Lee
