For this installment of “I’d Love
to Turn You On” I have the pleasure of reviewing Sylvain Chomet’s 2003 animated
masterpiece The Triplets of Belleville. At first glance this is a very
simple story told in a very innovative and eccentric way. However when you dig
a little further into this simple and brief tale of mystery, intrigue and love
you’ll find that it is quite a rich and very well told tale. Additionally it
has some of the best and most interesting animation I have ever had the
pleasure of watching and a soundtrack that is as stunning as it is odd. Simply
put this is a film that has very few lines of dialogue yet tells a very strange
and convoluted but beautiful story.
The first thing that strikes me when watching this
movie is just how amazing the art and animation is! In a world that was already
evolving into the computer animated, Pixar-obsessed world of today, it is truly
a treat to find such a painstakingly and carefully hand animated film. Each
character is designed in a unique and particular way, and then given a very
specific nuanced movement and personality. Through this animation process the
characters come alive in a very special and often forgotten way. It brings to
mind the old animated classic cartoons but in a bizarre and extraordinary way
that differentiates it from the more crude cartoons of old. While I have now
spent a few sentences attempting to the striking animation justice, I am
finding myself at a loss. I don’t believe that words are enough to fully
describe the magnificence embodied in the aesthetics of this film. The
settings, the scenery, the characters and the detail involved in all of these
things are simply something that you MUST see and experience in order to fully
understand.
The second thing that strikes me
when writing this piece is just how bizarre and intriguing the storyline is.
Simply put a Grandma is attempting to raise her grandson. She tries her best to
find things that will interest him and turn his life around so that he can live
a happy and fulfilling life. After a few failed attempts she stumbles upon his
journal and discovers that he has a bit of an obsession with bicycles. Ecstatic
that she has possibly found the thing that will provide her grandson with
lifelong happiness she buys him a bike, and he is elated. Flash forward a
decade or so later and the little boy has grown into ‘the Champion’ and is
training for the Tour de France with the help of his loving grandma, Madame
Souza, and their loyal dog Bruno. However during the race two mysterious
rectangle-shaped-sunglass and moustache-clad henchmen kidnap the Champ during
the race. Discovering that something is amiss, Madame Souza and Bruno find and
follow the rectangular thugs across an ocean to “Belleville” (a sort of
American amalgamation). It is here that Souza and Bruno take up with the
musical Triplets in order to continue their search for the Champ. Why did the
mysterious brutes kidnap the champ? Will Madame Souza and Bruno ever find him?
Where do the musical Triplets come into play? All of these questions and more
are delightfully answered in this short but constantly entertaining and
engaging plot.
The third thing that I find to be
particularly amazing is the fact that the film and its rather complex plot are
told through very sparing use of dialogue. Instead the film relies very heavily
on subtle expressions from the characters and a well-orchestrated and emotive
soundtrack, put together by Benoît Charest (alongside Chomet). While this might
initially seem to limit the film in its ability to convey a story successfully
I assure you that the movie not only develops and tells a beautiful and complex
tale but it does so in a way that is amusing and heart wrenching. This is a
glorious example of a movie that will make you laugh and cry, humorous and at
the same time quite touching. Chomet is even able to execute some sly
commentary through the character designs (which is best experienced and not
described) and the use of animal personification in the characters and
different types of people - the racers are given horse characteristics for
example, and the mechanic for the bad guys is given the characteristics of a
rodent. All of this just adds to the immense charm of the film.
While I could go on for hours about
how amazing this movie is, I suppose that I should get down to brass tacks: why
should you take a chance on this film? Because it is a perfect representation
of an almost forgotten art (hand animation), because it has an always
intriguing and entertaining story line, because it has a fantastic soundtrack,
and because it is brilliantly told even with almost non-existent dialogue. This
is truly an anomaly of a film and I implore you to take 80 minutes and
experience it for yourself. Nothing I can say in words will completely do this
idiosyncratic classic complete justice. You simply must see for yourself!
- Edward
Hill
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