La Belle et la Bête - Film Review

From the start of this film I was captured and wanted to follow Beauty and her story, treated as a slave in her home, the audience already begin to feel sympathy towards her. Set in a small village with old stone cottage-homes and cobbled streets, the residents travelled by horseback. The “credible French country landscape contains not just the realistic home of Beauty but also the weird, enchanted domicile of the Beast." (Malcolm, 1999). When Beauty’s father sets off one day through the mystical and enchanting forest he stumbles upon the Beast’s Lair and after trespassing through his private dwelling and picking a rose from his garden, the Beast confronts him and threatens to kill him. The Beast lets him free on the condition that one of his daughters takes his place, when he returns home, Beauty sacrifices herself. She arrives through a big, arched door; wooden, with lots of bolts, bewildered by her surroundings. It is clear to see how much Disney was influenced by Cocteau’s creation when they remade the film in colour animation in 1991, “From the long corridor of candelabra, held out from the walls by living arms, (Figure 1) to the glittering temple of Diana, wherein the mystery of the Beast is revealed, the visual progression of the fable into a dream-world casts its unpredictable spell.” (Crowther, 1947). Disney’s Lumière character (Figure 2) was one of the ideas that were most obviously kept from the original film and I also thought that the re-made animated Beast still looked fairly similar (Figure 3).  

As Beauty dined in the Beast’s castle, she sat in a chair that was like an intricately detailed throne; with beautifully carved patterns and it seems very ironic to me how such an ugly beast could acquire such an enchanting and magical home. It is juxtaposed as two extremes to great effect and his home is made out to be his main power in gradually charming and winning over Beauty as she is not used to such kind treatment. At one point, Beauty is walking about the castle’s gloomy hallways and there are some very thin, kind of curtains by the window that slowly move with the wind and brush against her (Figure 4). I feel that many of the elements of the Beast’s luxury lair are representative of Beauty and as if she has always been part of his surroundings.

There was a certain shot in the film that I really liked and thought was quite cleverly done but unfortunately I can’t find an image for it, it was when Beauty first encountered the Beast and fainted in shock. The camera changed from being in the scene outside to then inside the castle and looking out through the window at them. What I liked about it in particular was that the window had a kind of ‘lattice’ style design and one of these squares in the window was being used to frame what was going on outside and aim at a point of focus for the audience. It also made the connection with Beauty and the Beast seem more intimate as he carried her away to safety.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Quotes;


Crowther, B. (1947) La Belle et la Bete (1946) THE SCREEN IN REVIEW at
http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B03EFD71E3EEE3BBC4C51DFB467838C659EDE 

(Accessed 4/11/12)

Malcolm, D. (1999) Jean Cocteau: La Belle et La Bête at http://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jul/01/1 

(Accessed 4/11/12)

Images;

Figure 1 – Corridor of candelabra
 http://www.whitecoffeemagazine.com/2013/classic-la-belle-et-la-bete/
(Accessed 4/11/12)

Figure 2 – Disney’s Lumière and Beast
http://www.empireonline.com/features/50-greatest-animated-characters/default.asp?film=39
(Accessed 4/11/12)

Figure 3 – Cocteau’s Beast
http://reelmusicreality.wordpress.com/
 (Accessed 4/11/12)

Figure 4 – Curtains in hallway
http://www.mondo-digital.com/orpheus.html
(Accessed 4/11/12)