#beauty and the beast la belle et la bete belle beast gaston costumes design drooling movies filmjournal

[live4thestars]

Entry #001

From the Sometimes Diary of a Part Time Filmmaker

It’s been a minute, for sure, since I started writing about my own life. I love to constantly surround myself in the worlds of my screen plays, but sometimes I feel like my life isn’t worth much retelling. 

I used to be one of those people who kept a Journal every day. All through High school and some college I was a faithful daily chronicler. But then I ran into some depression and that kind of soured up my drive for the journal. After coming through it, I just haven’t gotten back into the swing of things. 

So, while my computer renders one of my videography projects, I have discovered a lot of thoughts about movies that need to be expressed.

Thus, I have decided to keep a Film Journal here on Tumblr and give my thoughts on new movies that I see. Who knows how often this will happen, but sometimes this girl just needs to get it out of her system. 

Today’s movie of choice: 

Before we start, I just need to warn everyone that I am about to compare the ever loving crap out of this movie and the latest Disney live action version. Spoiler alert: was not impressed with Disney. Sorry if that shows, but I have my reasons. 

La Belle et la Bete, released in 2014, was recently added to Netflix. All I have to say is God Bless Netflix, which gives me access to foreign films that I would otherwise have NO CLUE about. Director Christophe Gans also wrote this adaptation of the beloved fairy tale, and I have to admit he did a STELLAR JOB of it. Below, I’m going to give each category a score out of 10 to help illustrate the quality of this picture.

Cinematography: 9/10

The camera work is phenomenal. After having spent my college years as a lighting technician for a television studio, I’m a bit of a sucker for good dramatic lighting. And this movie delivered in SPADES! They played a lot with the Magic Mirror motif making it more of a window than a reflection. 

Acting: 7/10

Love Lea Seydoux’s sassy and brave Belle, and I felt that the performers of Belle’s family members were delightful, if a bit “Adverb Descriptive word” (especially her brothers). But in a fairytale like this, it’s completely allowed. 

Production Design: 10/10 would see again

STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW AND JUST WATCH THE TRAILER FOR THIS MOVIE.  It’s flippin’ gorgeous to look at.

Think Baz Lurhman style opulence and add a touch of Disney’s Into the Woods and you’ve got this aesthetic. The amount of detail put into each set piece is exquisite, and I don’t use that word unless it is warranted. 

Costume Design:  10/10 would wear again

I’M DYING OVER HERE! When I get into my Disney beef later, I will be referring to the costumes a wee bit. But look at how stunningly crafted these dresses are? And the Beast’s ensemble is so royal you’re afraid it’ll rain rubies if he brushes up against the wall.

Visual FX: 7/10

Not the greatest CGI animals I’ve ever seen, but definitely not the worst. What shortcomings I noticed were absolutely forgivable when they would cut to the next shots involving their wonderfully decorated sets. The final “battle” at the end didn’t end up as cheesy as I thought it would be considering the amount of CG used.

Orchestral Score: 7/10

Beautifully serene, creepy, and mysterious at the same time. However, I did recognize a few phrases here and there. Not that I could place where I’d heard them before, but some of it was derivative of something. Let me know if you have figured it out. It’s starting to taunt me. 

Why I loved this adaptation

I’m absolute trash for the story of Beauty and the Beast. It’s been my favorite animated movie since before I can remember. I’ve read so many retellings; some of them very well done and most of them steaming piles of crap trying to capitalize on Beauty and the Beast popularity. 

Each time I have experienced a new medium for my beloved fairy tale, I’m excited to see what they will add. What kinds of shading and depth can you give to this tale? 

This film blew my socks off in that regard. They retold the story with characters and plot points that I had never seen used before. I’ve read books in which Belle is an only child, the youngest daughter, but never have I seen her portrayed as part of a large family. It almost seemed that she had “ugly step sisters” (even though neither of the sisters were Ugly nor Step-) who created wonderful foils to her elder brothers. A dysfunctional family, yes, and seemingly real dynamics too. 

They added the dichotomy of Vice and Virtue in order to set up the final problem. Instead of a “Gaston” type villain who wants to keep Belle, or the internal struggle of Belle choosing to leave her family after seeing them again; the struggle comes from the vices of Belle’s family coming back to bite them. 

Ok, now comes the part where I kind of rant. You’ve been warned. 

Here are the top reasons I liked La Belle et la Bete more than Disney’s live action version. 

#3 The story was more thought out and the characters’ actions made sense.

One of the nitpicks I had with Disney’s rendition was the lack of logic in their characters. The Live Action Cinderella provided some context for each characters’ actions and motivations, even the Evil Stepmother who never gets any love. I had hoped with the new one, Disney would take this opportunity to improve upon or even just supply some basic motivation that followed some logic. I am thinking specifically of the character of Belle’s father and his seemingly arbitrary choices. All under the guise of being... forgetful? Spaced out? Belle’s father in La Belle et la Bete was forced into his wrong decisions, unable to find another way. 

#2 They actually did something new instead of rehashing the old.

Like I mentioned before, the way they introduced Belle as the youngest of a large family was refreshing. That she would be happier in a country existence after the luxury of city living was delightful character element that spoke to her intelligence instead of just having her nose in a book all day. Don’t get me wrong, that is one of my favorite aspects about Belle since I am a fellow bookworm. Yet, it was a nice change from the trope since there are many viewers who maybe do not pride their intelligence on their book knowledge. It made her intelligent both emotionally and intellectually. Her little sassy comments in the face of certain danger made me laugh at the brass balls this girl had. While watching Disney’s, I was so VERY disappointed that the story stuck so closely to the animated version (literally lifting 75% of the lines straight from the animated film) that I almost felt bored. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a beauty to look at, thus entertaining, but I felt like Ariel saying, “I want more!!!” 

#1 with a bullet BELLE’S DRESSES.

Ok, not even just the dresses but the costumes in La Belle et la Bete had so much detail, care, and passion pumped into them. The first dresses we see Belle’s sisters, Anne and Clotilde, wearing are high fop fashion. Through the whole movie I was amazed by the sleeves. THE SLEEVES, PEOPLE! Who is fascinated by sleeves when there are so many other things to soak in? This girl right here. My issue with Disney’s version was that the costumes were fabulous... to a point. I’m a stickler for costume design rules: if you have an aesthetic you need to stick to it, otherwise they just don’t make sense. Disney suffered from a little costume schizophrenia. For example, the beginning scene had me FLABBERGASTED to see all those women and men in period French Rococo style. Even the Prince’s face painting was on point with some of those crazy masquerade parties you know the French aristocracy put on. Then we see Belle’s first costume and it’s a wonderful country bumpkin ensemble with plenty of color to call back to the animated movie. So far so good, Gaston and Lefou are looking great with their military style waistcoat and jacket outfits. I had a little trouble at first with the Beast’s costume because is was CGI and it’s really hard to animate fabric moving against a body in a seamless way. I was able to forgive that after a while though, I suppose I got used to it and moved on. BUT THEN WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE COSTUME TO END ALL COSTUMES CAME ON SCREEN AND BEGAN TO ANNOY THE EVERY LOVING CRAP OUT OF ME! Belle’s “Pat of Butter” yellow Prom dress. There’s the Beast wearing a lovely blue waistcoat and brocade jacket complete with knee length knickers and buckled shoes. And Belle showed up in a prom dress from my high school dance. They threw “period” out the window and picked an atrocious color that was way too bright and washed out the Beast’s costume. It makes me VERY ANGRY when there is a period film and the costumes don’t stick to their aesthetic. 

But in La Belle et la Bete, when they pick an aesthetic they stick to it like shine on silk. While not necessarily “period” correct, they used many elements of court dress and embellished accordingly to match the rest of the film’s components. It just MADE SENSE. 

Alright, I say all that to say: Go watch this film, it is a delight for the eyes and imagination. You won’t regret the time spent in this beautiful fairy tale world. 

That’s all for now!