Belle e Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian was originally a novel by the French actress and writer, Cécile Aubry. The story was very popular and was made into a French live-action series in 1965. Oddly, it later was a Japanese anime in the 1980s and now is a French film. Although the story is quite popular in France, I'd never heard of it and I cannot compare this film in any way to the other projects. The anime, series or book could be a lot better or worse…I just don't know.

This film is set during WWII in the French Alps. Sebastian is a 6 year- old boy who lives with his adopted grandfather and his niece. The boy is amazingly independent and resourceful—and as the film progresses you marvel at the kid's courage and tenacity. Initially you see it when the men of the village go off in search of an animal that is killing sheep. They assume it's a dog that has gone feral and they are determined to kill it. One day, Sebastian is walking in the hills and encounters the dog—and this Great Pyrenees doesn't seem particularly aggressive and the boy stands there and calmly talks to it. When the boy sees the dog again later, he even gets the dog to allow him to pet him and soon the pair are friends. But, the men have vowed to kill this animal and when Grandpa sees the animal, Sebastian goes so far as to stand in front of the dog to shield it from the gun. This is a good thing because later, it turns out that it's NOT this dog that is harming the sheep. Additionally, towards the end of the film, the dog turns out to be a serious blessing. But, what that is and how he helps saves some lives is something best seen by you.

Although this film has some Nazis in it, the film is appropriate for all ages. The violence is not too extreme and the film is similar in style to the old movie "Lassie Come Home"—charming and family-oriented entertainment. The star of Belle and Sebastian clearly is the location and the cinematography. It's rare to ever see a film so beautiful and the film truly is breathtaking. Additionally, you really have to admire the cast and crew for working some pretty extreme conditions to bring us the movie. Well worth seeing—particularly if you are looking for something you won't be ashamed to show your kids or mother!

In 1943, in the French Alps, the orphan Sébastien (Félix Bossuet) lives in a small village with his grandfather César (Tchéky Karyo), who is a shepherd, and his aunt Angélina (Margaux Châtelier), who is a baker. Sébastien misses his mother and believes she has traveled to America. He expects to get a watch with compass as a gift from her. The local Dr. Guillaume (Dimitri Storoge) is a member of the Frech resistance that helps Jewish refugees to flee to Switzerland and the German Lieutenant Peter (Andreas Pietschmann) and troop are hunting down the resistance. When sheep are found slaughtered, César and the other residents believe that a stray dog that has been abused by his owner is the responsible and hunt it down. Sébastien finds the dog, gives the name of Belle to her and they become friends. But the animal is considered a beast by the inhabitants. Will Sébastien be capable to save Belle?

"Belle et Sébastien" is a great family entertainment, with a beautiful story of friendship. The needy Sébastien find his soul mate in a stray female dog and together they become friends during the World War II. The wonderful landscapes in the Alps are highlighted by the cinematography and the camera. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Belle e Sebástian" ("Belle and Sebástian")

Nicholas Vanier directed this adaptation of Cécile Aubry's novel (adaptation and screenplay by director Vanier with Juliette Sales and Fabien Suarez) n a film that is in both French and German with English subtitles. The result is a film for the heart – a reminder that during the atrocities of WW II there were moments of meaningful relationships, especially between animals and people (remember 'War Horse'?).

The film is set during WWII in the snowy Alps of occupied France, on the border of Switzerland. Six year old Sébastien (Félix Bossuet), raised and adopted by his grandfather, is lonely and dreaming of the day his mother will return from America for him. He befriends an enormous yet gentle sheepdog Belle who quickly becomes his best friend and protector. With Nazis in the village rooting out the resistance fighters helping Jewish refugees cross the border, Belle and Sébastien's loyalty to each other and the village that has embraced them both will be put to the test.

The scenery is magnificent and the acting by the young and gifted Félix Bossuet is extraordinary. It is a moment of devotion and love and caring and protection during WW II that creates a strong sense of caring about the true meaning of friendship.

Belle and Sebastian may also be the name of a band or an appliance brand but this review deals with the recent French film by that name. In it, a boy and his fluffy white dog save Jewish refugees from the Nazi occupation of France by leading them over the French Alps into Switzerland. Why don't the soldiers just follow them into unarmed Switzerland and take back the escapees is a good question for your history teacher. Beyond the honoring of true-life heroic acts taken by the French resistance, the movie is also an excuse to film some stunning visuals in the boy's largely vertical world. Within this world some sad and sophisticated things happen (including a least 2 double-crosses) so clearly this isn't an American children's picture. Some sad stuff happens as well but not as much as you expect for a French film. The acting is overwrought at times but generally very good - the dog is excellent. In short, worth taking your older children to and having them learn something.

A review of this film by a guy actually named Sébastien because her mother liked the 60's TV series so much, what a concept! So this film is based on a children's novel by Cécile Aubry telling the story of a friendship between a young boy called Sébastien and a big white dog named Belle living in a small French village in the mountains in 1943. Before watching the film, I was only familiar with the anime version of the 80's that I loved, so I cannot evaluate how faithful it is to the original novel. My impression and Wikipedia tell me that a few creative freedoms were taken. So, we hear about a "beast" in the mountains killing sheep. Sébastien lives with his grandfather César and spends most of his time outdoors. It's revealed quite soon that the "beast" in question is actually a big dog that was beaten up by his former master, fled and became wild. Not that wild since Sébastien discovers the dog and quickly befriends her in secret, although the dog is still hunted and in constant danger of being killed by the villagers. Sébastien eventually names her "Belle" because once cleaned up, she's so beautiful. Of course, there's also a play on the Beauty and the Beast theme, la Belle et la Bête, that Sébastien probably never read. Not initially related but eventually becoming important, is that France is occupied by the Germans, and there's a clandestine operation by the French passing Jew refugees over the mountains to reach another country. There are regular visits by the Germans in the nearby village and they want to stop this.

So, I found the movie rather peaceful and relaxing with beautiful mountainous landscapes. Contrary to what another review says, there is a story and even a few mysteries such as what happened to Sébastien's mother, who's helping the Jews and the true motivations of a few characters. I loved Belle, she was expressive and she looked like I what I envisioned she should in real life. I didn't like the actor Sébastien so much. Yes, he's cute, but a few times, there was a little something off in the way he played. It didn't seem all natural for lack of better explanation. The relationship between him and Belle was mostly fine, but there was some chemistry missing. I sometimes felt some kind of "disconnect" between him and her. The other adult actors were adequate, except for the doctor that I found bland, and the German lieutenant that I found more interesting than the rest. In fact, I liked how ambiguously he was portrayed.

The animal sequences didn't particularly impress me, as it sometimes felt as if they were filmed separately, although they were real animals. Scenes of danger, especially the last one, felt a bit awkwardly filmed. At one point, there was a song sung by Sébastien in the background that I found very corny, but it might be my cynical adult side complaining. The couple of other songs sung by an adult woman fared better, but I would have preferred just poignant music instead. I don't really remember the soundtrack otherwise. I wish I would have been moved emotionally by the film, but I wasn't really, although I found a few sequences charming. So maybe it's nostalgia for the old cartoon talking, but for me, this adaptation, although competent enough, seemed to lack a certain magic. I'd recommend it for big dog lovers. As an aside, my girlfriend, not familiar with the story, liked the film much better than I did.

Rating: 6 out of 10 (good)