Director: Sylvain Chomet
Producers: Didier Brunner, Paul Cadieux
Screenplay: Sylvain Chomet
Music: Benoit Charest
U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
The Triplets of Belleville almost didn't receive U.S. distribution at all, and, even with Sony Pictures Classics having purchased the rights, it's not clear how widespread the release will be. The reason is simple: animated movies that are not Disney-fied typically arrive dead on arrival at the box office. Anime titles have a cult following, but it's not large enough to make them profitable for multiplex releases. So what chance does a French-made animated feature for adults have, especially considering that there's very little in the way of action?
The term "adult" may be misleading in this case. Outside of a brief scene featuring a topless dancing girl, there's no objectionable content in the film. However, the pace is slow, there are numerous lengthy scenes in which little or nothing happens, and the movie is almost entirely devoid of dialogue. These are the kinds of traits that will have children with short attention spans climbing over the back of the seat in front of them. The movie, which is full to the brim with satire, will go over the heads of kids, leaving them with little aside from the cartoon images to capture and hold their attention.
There is a plot, although it's both minimal and absurd. Madame Souza dotes on Champion, her orphaned grandson, who dreams of racing in the Tour de France. When Champion is kidnapped by gangsters and taken to the city of Belleville, Madame de Souza and Champion's dog, Bruno, set out in pursuit. Once in Belleville, the elderly woman hooks up with a trio of eccentric vaudeville singers (I kept thinking of the three witches in "Macbeth"), who aid her in her quest to locate Champion.
The Triplets of Belleville took the better part of five years to assemble, and the animation mixes computer generated images with traditional hand-drawn ones. The style is somewhat reminiscent of that used by Rankin-Bass for their versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Return of the King. The film has a gothic feel, giving the sense of a fractured fairy tale. Although there is virtually no talking, The Triplets of Belleville is by no means silent. In fact, sound is a critical element of the film, whether it's in the approach of a train, the croaking of frogs, or the barking of a dog - there's just no meaningful dialogue. (Therefore, dubbing and/or subtitling does not become an issue.) And the jazz-tinged music that permeates the soundtrack is a critical element.
The Triplets of Belleville is a highly satirical work, albeit without the "in your face" style of South Park. It pokes fun at stereotypes of both the French (who are shown to subsist solely on a diet of frogs) and North Americans (who are depicted as overweight gluttons). Belleville is a bizarre marriage of New York and Quebec (complete with a Rubenesque Statue of Liberty), and Paris is depicted as having grown up and swallowed its suburbs. The overall story can be seen as an allegory of how Hollywood steals away the best and brightest talents of Europe and sucks them dry. Whether or not that's true (and the subject could foster and long debate), it's certainly the European viewpoint, and Chomet brings it to the fore here.
The Triplets of Belleville is adept at presenting quirky little details, such as Bruno's fetish with trains and some of the Triplet's unique culinary talents. (Ever had a frog-sicle?) The film's generally unconventional approach makes it difficult to determine where it's going next, or how it's going to end. The Triplets of Belleville contains its share of comedic elements and the overall tone is light, but there's something almost mournful lurking beneath the surface. The movie can probably be best described as a true art-house animated motion picture - a rarity, to be sure. However, for someone with an adventurous cinematic appetite, a production that makes Miyazaki appear mainstream is surely worth a look.
© 2003 James Berardinelli