Review

Review Date: 4-January-04
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

If, as an adult, you were to pick up Alice in Wonderland or In the Night Kitchen for the very first time, chances are you would think it was pretty darn strange, although you might not have thought so as a child. That describes my initial reaction to "The Triplets of Belleville," an animated feature from writer-director Sylvain Chomet. It made me feel uncomfortable because it was peculiar in such an artistically confident way that I had to wonder whether it would make sense if I were younger, more receptive, or less bound to standard modes of entertainment. But although I never stopped being unsettled by the film, its gorgeous exterior and warm heart ultimately won me over.

The product of French, Belgian, and Canadian artists, "The Triplets of Belleville" is essentially a French-language film, but the American release does not include any subtitles. This is because there is almost no dialogue; the movie relies instead on music, sound effects, and, most of all, visuals to convey its simple but eccentric story. The world imagined by Chomet and his colleagues mesmerizes with the richness of the best children's picture books, replete with fantastical cityscapes, magical transports, and grotesque humans, a perfectly modulated combination of dream and nightmare. Add the dynamic element of big screen animation (and a little social commentary on the side), and you have a picture with a rarely seen amount of visionary power.

The marvelous hero of this flight of fancy is not, in fact, a triplet or from Belleville, but rather a modest little woman who has devoted her life to raising a grandson (son?) in a growing French municipality. When he's a silent, dark-eyed, pudgy lad she tries to delight him with music and a puppy, and when he grows into a silent, dark-eyed, sinewy man she indulges his obsession with biking, guiding him all the way to the Tour de France. (The puppy grows up with him, becoming fat, lovable, and an important player in his own right.) But evil invades the serenity of their lives when the man is kidnapped by mafiosi and shipped off (in a boat that will haunt my dreams) to the New York-ish metropolis of Belleville, for nefarious reasons only later to be revealed. The old lady follows in his wake, pursuing the one purpose of her life with as much tenacity as the bloodhound that accompanies her. Once in the big city, she loses the trail but gains the compassion of three balmy, frog-eating sisters who were famous cabaret singers during the jazz age. With their assistance, she sets about rescuing her grandson when the opportunity at last presents itself.

In both plot and execution, "The Triplets of Belleville" is not your average fare, and depending on who you are, this is either its strength or its weakness (or both, as for me). But any way you look at it, it's a remarkable feat of imagination and a reminder that "old-fashioned" animation hasn't yet laid down to die. Because, after all, narrative power doesn't derive from the latest technologies and trends. It resides in the open mind and talent of the narrator, and Chomet appears to have both.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.