Competition screening - review - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (La belle et la bête) by Christophe Gans
Beauty and the Beast is one of those traditional fairy-tales that has undergone changes through time. Originated in France and brought to the screen most famously by the house of mouse and Jean Cocteau in two drastically opposite styles, audience tastes particularly dictated by Del Toro’s gothic horror fable successes revealed that perhaps the time was right for a new and updated rendition. And, it is only fair that it was a French filmmaker to take it upon himself to deliver this new version.
We all know the story. This is a period drama where a beautiful and good natured girl is trapped in a castle with an anthropomorphic beast to save the life of her father. Once there, she quickly realises that the castle was cursed and through her dreams she also comes to know the tragic tale behind the curse.
However, the viewer’s perception of the film will be very much affected by whether or not they will accept the fact that they are watching a melodramatic fable. In fact, a times it feels as if we are watching a film of the kind that was produced during the silent era, with the romanticism highly exaggerated in classicist glory. Even the lavish production seems to recall the extravagance of the earliest blockbusters. Visual effects, costumes and an overall luxurious art direction provides a strange yet exhilarating mix of gothic and glamour that, in the long run, would have felt like an overstretched perfume TV ad had it not been balanced by the right amount of mystery, action and tension that the film required to seem exciting.
It is true, however, that for the most part, director Gans who also co-wrote the script, seems to rely too heavily on the cheesy romanticism that in itself never feels real. Despite the sexual charge and even sado-masochistic undertones that a story like the one of Beauty and the Beast has, particularly to a modern audience, its constant coating of innocence underwhelms the many small elements present in the art direction of the film. Had this film played more on the sinister tones of the sexual elements of the story, it would probably have seemed more rewarding to a larger audience but, alas, ultimately Gans never dares so much, which is rather disappointing. But perhaps, his goal was also to balance the appeal that the story would have on a broader audience, so it can be hence understood why the Beast is never once frightening and it is thus never a mystery that he should charm the graces of Belle by the end of the flick.
Overwhelmed by the visuals, the performances by Seydoux and Cassel become minuscule and unimportant – a factor that undermines the human aspect of the film. Yet, despite all this, it is clear that screened as part of the main competition of the Berlinale, it figures much worse than what it actually is. Why we should welcome Luhrmann’s empty rendition of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic The Great Gatsby over this version of Beauty and the Beast is a trivial matter, though it is also true that this version will never reach the psychological tension of the celebrated Cocteau one.
Nevertheless, it is a rather impressive fable that reproduces a type of majesty and classicist magic that is rarely seen in a film, particularly a film not produced in Hollywood. Is that subconsciously a reason why it will most likely be dismissed in the long run? That is another matter worth discussing.
