Adventures with Netflix: The Triplets of Belleville
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I can agree with this reviewer: The Triplets of Belleville was a rather bizarre and often creepy looking film that left me feeling awkward and somewhat sad by the end. Some moments were heartfelt and charming. Some moments were also quirky and humorous. And the design aesthetic was strong and very unique to this production. But ultimately the story leaves you feeling like we’re never getting anywhere until the last couple dozen minutes. And the character design mixed with the nearly dead-silent atmosphere makes one feel very awkward and uncomfortable.
Honestly, the single best thing that came out of this film was its main theme song, which was both nominated at the Academy Awards for best original song, and was repackaged into a music video shot like an old silent film. I love this video and this song so much that I’ve been watching it every once in a while for nearly 10 years. Can’t get enough of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJYDXQjk1iU
You likely won’t see me review this film on my own, as it’s a little hard for me to re-watch. But there may be a chance that I’ll do it someday. Though I can definitely say that I won’t review the directors’ follow-up film, The Illusionist, which was absolutely boring and forgettable.
For more information, check out the re-blogged post at the bottom of the page.
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Maybe it is because of my french-speaking culture background but I’ve never been “disturbed” by The Triplets of Belleville. Indeed, it has a rythm and aesthetic that would make people used to american and japanese productions wonder in a see of eeriness but really, to us it was ground-breaking. And if you are willing to go deeper into Sylvain Chomet’s work, I advice you to check his tribute to Jacques Tati: L’illusioniste (the illusionist), wich is far more accessible in terms of narrative style and rythm. 😉
But yeah, the theme song by french singer M is what stuck the most. ^^
I suppose “disturbing” is not the best term. But more like “off-putting.” It’s an art style that is highly exaggerated and tends to be a little hard to watch if you aren’t used to hyper exaggeration and hyper-detail. Nonetheless, I can agree that it was ground-breaking for those very same reasons and more.
I have also seen the Illusionist as well. Unfortunately, I barely remember a thing from it because it neither affected me, nor did it leave me with anything to think about afterwards. It’s pacing was far too slow. And I never really felt like the set-up actually paid off in the end. I certainly don’t mean to say that others can’t enjoy it. But if a movie has absolutely no affect on me, and I end up forgetting most of it after I watch it, then it was a poor movie experience.
I don’t believe “Ernest & Celestine” was made by the same people as these other two films. But I far preferred the style and pacing of that production over Triplets or Illusionist. I still remember everything about that film even after only watching it once about a year ago.