17/02/2014 - The Franco-German romantic fantasy may be popular with the very young generations

Although copiously adapted since the birth of cinema, the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast was in need of a special-effects update, and Christophe Gans’ take does exactly that: without changing much of the original story, his Beauty and the Beast [+see also:
trailer
making of
interview: Christophe Gans
interview: Léa Seydoux
interview: Vincent Cassel
film profile] was shown out of competition at the Berlinale, with Léa Seydoux and a mostly furry Vincent Cassel in the title roles.

Produced in the Babelsberg studios outside Berlin, the film makes extensive use of special effects and computer-generated images to bring to the silver screen the story of a merchant (André Dussollier) who, after stealing a rose from the Beast’s garden, will be replaced by his youngest daughter, Belle (Seydoux), as the monster’s companion. Gans adds a different background story for his male lead character, which is revealed to Belle through colourful dreams.

The film may surprise mature audiences with many of its narrative choices (for example, Belle and the Beast share so little on-screen time that the revelation of her sentiments for him becomes the equivalent of a rabbit plucked out of a hat by a prestidigitator) and lack of emotion, but Gans’ ornamented art direction, opulent costumes and some interesting tableaux may entertain very young generations, especially if they are not familiar with the classic Disney adaptation from 1991.

Léa Seydoux’s beauty and vulnerability make her a convincing fairy-tale princess, and the scenes in which Belle explores the enchanted castle or does everything possible to get back to the Beast are the most visually impressive. Unfortunately, the director uses an unconvincing subplot to increase the tension in the film’s third act, which also comes with some below-par CGI shots that will make the audience wonder whether European cinema will ever catch up with Hollywood in terms of visual effects.