The Triplets of Belleville

Written and directed by Sylvain Chomet, Les Triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville) is the story of an old lady who is aided by a trio of music hall singers and their dog to save her bicyclist grandson from the mafia in a big city. The hand-drawn animated film is a genre-bender that features comedy, drama, and bits of the musical to display Chomet’s world of the whimsical. Featuring the voice cast of Jean-Claude Donda, Michele Caucheteux, Michel Robin, and Monica Viegas. Les Triplettes de Belleville is a dazzling and truly delightful animated film from Sylvain Chomet.

While racing the French circuit, Champion has been kidnapped by the French mob along with two other racers as his grandmother Madame Souza and their obese dog Bruno decides to follow whoever had taken her grandson. Realizing that her grandson is on a ship, she and Bruno go on the trail to the city of Belleville. Despite having no money, Souza is aided by a trio of music hall singers known as the Triplets of Belleville who would help her retrieve her grandson where they learn about a mob leader’s dastardly plans to use him in a gambling scheme.

The film is essentially an adventure story about a grandmother trying to save her son from the mob with the help of a music hall singing trio where lots of hilarity and music interludes occur throughout the adventure. Yet, the story starts off with the Triplets of Belleville in their glory days as they perform with the likes of Django Reinhardt, Josephine Baker, and Fred Astaire as it watched by Madame Souza and her melancholic grandson to set up the entire story for the grandmother and her grandson. A story that recalls a boy lost without his parents where it would take a dog and a tricycle to cheer the boy up as she becomes his coach to become a bicyclist training for a top French bicycling circuit.

Then comes the main story of his kidnapping and the grandmother’s desire to retrieve him where she would meet this eccentric trio of singers who play music through their appliances where Souza would be an extra member to help fill out the music during a performance scene that would lead to a big climatic sequence involving the mob chasing the good guys in the strange city that is Belleville. A lot of it is told with very little dialogue and mostly through pantomime and physicality by its writer/director Sylvain Chomet.

Through its unconventional screenplay that is carried by its simple plot, Chomet allows the story to just play out and take its time without lagging in order to establish the characters and who they are. Chomet’s direction is definitely whimsical in the way the characters are animated as well as the locations that are created for the film. Notably the city of Belleville with its narrow lanes, big buildings, and other places is a character in the film to emphasize the new world that Souza and Bruno are in. The animation also plays to a lot of genres ranging from musicals to crime films where the latter takes place in the film’s climatic moment but done with a sense of humor to make the violence not seem as graphic though there is a moment where the violence does play to the stake of what is happening. Overall, Chomet crafts a truly rich film that does a lot to entertain its audience and succeeds in every level.

Editors Dominique Brune, Chantal Colibert Brunner, and Dominique Lefever do wonderful work with the editing to play out the film’s sense of humor and suspense through some straightforward cutting styles. Production designer Evgeni Tomov and art director Thierry Million do amazing work with the look of the towns and the city of Belleville to establish the differing worlds that Madame Souza is part of in reference to the latter. Sound editors Germain Boulay and Stephanie Perrin do brilliant work with the sound to play out the noises of the crowd scenes and the intimate moments involving Madame Souza and the triplets.

The film’s music by Benoit Charest is a major highlight for its playful score that adds to the whimsical tone of the film as it includes lots of early 20th Century jazz music to play up the world of the Triplets of Belleville. The song Belleville Rendez-vous is a charming little song that includes lots of strange percussions played by appliances as it’s one of the film’s highlights that is played in the closing credits. The voice cast is largely small as they play to crowd noises though the real standouts include Beatrice Bonifassi as the singing voice of the triplets while Charles Prevost Linton also provides other singing voices in the film.

Les Triplettes de Belleville is a ravishing and exciting film from Sylvain Chomet. Featuring marvelous musical numbers and comical moments that gets the audience laughing, it’s a film that has a lot of heart and whimsy to win anyone over. For those new to Chomet, this film is a great place to start to emphasize his unique animated style as well as quirky sense of humor. In the end, Les Triplettes de Belleville is a phenomenal film from Sylvain Chomet.

Sylvain Chomet Films: (The Old Lady and the Pigeons) - Paris Je T'aime-Tour Eiffel - The Illusionist (2010 film)

© thevoid99 2012

The Illusionist (2010 film)

Directed by Sylvain Chomet and based on an un-produced screenplay by the late Jacques Tati, L’Illusionniste (The Illusionist) is the story about the life of a magician who meets a young lady who is convinced he is the real thing as he struggles to find work during visit to a small town. With a screenplay written by Chomet and Tati’s longtime collaborator Henri Marquet, the hand-drawn animated film is a tribute to the work of Tati as well as giving an audience a chance to revisit the work of one of France’s greatest filmmakers. L’Illsionniste is a charming yet heartwarming film from Sylvain Chomet.

A magician who goes by the stage name Tatischeff is trying to make it as a magician as he ends up entertaining to a very small audience in small theaters in France. With the world changing during the late 1950s, there is little time for work as a magician as he goes to Britain for work where it’s even harder as he has to follow a rock band at one point. After working at a party, the magician meets a drunken Scottish man who takes him to his small town for to provide entertainment for a pub. Watching the magician perform is a young girl named Alice who is amazed by the magician whom she meets later on as he gets her a pair of red shoes to replace the decayed shoes she’s wearing.

With the magician seeking more work around Scotland, he travels to Edinburgh as Alice joins him as he gets a job working for a small theater. While they live at a hotel with a ventriloquist, a clown, and a trio of acrobats, work for the magician starts to struggle as Alice becomes amazed by the city as she desires to look and act like a woman. With the magician taking on various jobs on the side, things begin to look grim while Alice becomes more drawn to the modern world as she falls for a young man. The magician then realizes what is happening to Alice as he tries to come to terms with everything that is going on around him.

While the film is meant to be a project the late Jacques Tati was to do with his youngest daughter Sophie (whom he had never met), it was also rumored to be a film where Tati wanted to reconcile with his eldest daughter Helena in whom he abandoned when she was just a baby. While the motives for wanting to do this project remains unsure, the film has a father-daughter relationship of sorts. Still, it’s about a young girl who admires this amazingly gifted magician in a world where he’s not in favor as much while she is more drawn to it.

While the film doesn’t have a lot of dialogue as the voices for the magician and Alice are provided by Jean-Claude Donda and Eilidh Rankin, respectively, are a mix of various languages. It’s a film that is more of a tribute to Tati as the magician character has a look and persona that is reminiscent of some of the characters that Jacques Tati has played. The film also features a scene where the magician walks into a theater where Tati’s 1958 film Mon Oncle is playing as a clip of that film is shown while the magician mimics the same movement as Tati.

Chomet’s direction is done with an amazing style and look that is distinctive of his work while he also putting some of Tati’s directing style into the film for the way the humor is set up and emphasizing more on action rather than dialogue. While the story might be considered sentimental, it does dwell into that but not that heavily as he puts a lot of humor into the film. Chomet’s animated, hand-drawn style does create a look that is very wondrous and rich for the way characters look as well as the surroundings.

Serving as both the film’s editor and music composer, Chomet’s approach to the former is straightforward by using a few dissolves and jump-cuts to keep the film’s rhythm going. For the music, Chomet plays into the Tati musical style of playful-driven pieces while also going for a more somber score for the dramatic moments of the film. Along with some amazing sound work from Carl Goetgheluck and the look of the set pieces created for the film by production designer Jacques Arhex and art director Bjarne Hansen. The film has a look that is very rich while creating a world that is seemingly modern through its sound. The overall work that Chomet does in his direction is superb and marks as a great tribute to the work of Jacques Tati.

L’Illusionniste is a charming yet touching film from Sylvain Chomet that brings Jacques Tati’s un-produced story to life. While it may not have the more whimsical charm of The Triplets of Belleville, it is still an engaging yet lively film to watch while proving that hand-drawn animation can still weave some magic. For people new to the works of Jacques Tati, the film is a decent introduction though Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday is a much better introduction. In the end, L’Illusionniste is an extraordinary tribute to Jacques Tati from the imaginative mind of Sylvain Chomet.

Sylvain Chomet Films: (The Old Lady and the Pigeons) - The Triplets of Belleville - Paris Je T'aime-Tour Eiffel

© thevoid99 2011

Paris Je T'aime

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/30/08 w/ Additional Edits.

Paris, one of the greatest cities of the world. Home of the arts, the Cinemateque, the Sorbonne, the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve, and many more landmark sites including the people in all of its glory with its mix of models, actors, musicians, and artists eating on the sidewalk cafes eating crepes, French bread, and drink wine. It's a glorious place that for those who want to go will be dreaming about by even saying they've been there but not physically. Yet, for those who still dream about going to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, how can they understand the experience the city? Well, there's a film made by some of the world's greatest directors as they're joined by some of the world's finest actors in an anthology film entitled Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I Love You).

Paris, Je T'aime is an anthology film featuring 18 short films about various people in the different sections of the city. Based on an idea by Tristan Carne and conceptualized by Emmanuel Benbihy who along with Frederic Auburtin directed the transition sequences between each short. The film is an exploration of the city through different stories from the perspective of its eclectic group of directors that include Joel & Ethan Coen, Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne, Tom Tykwer, Olivier Assayas, Wes Craven, Gurinder Chadha, Frederic Auburtin & Gerard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Alfonso Cuaron, Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, Oliver Schmitz, Sylvain Chomet, Isabel Coixet, Bruno Podalydes, and Nobuhiro Suwa.

Featuring an all-star cast that include Fanny Ardant, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gerard Depardieu, Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, Barbet Schroder, Bob Hoskins, Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gaspard Ulliel, Rufus Sewell, Emily Mortimer, Li Xin, Sergio Castellitto, Gena Rowlands, Miranda Richardson, Ben Gazarra, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, and many more. Paris, Je T'aime is a fascinating, enchanting film that will make anyone fall in love with Paris that they want to take a trip to one of the greatest cities in the world.

Montmarte (written & directed by Bruno Podalydes) is the story of a man (Bruno Podalydes) trying to find a parking space through the crowded sidewalk in the city as he finds one where he listens to classical music. Refusing to leave his space, he watches everything around where he then finds a woman (Florence Muller) fainting on his car as he tries to take care of her and then puts her in the back of his car as he tries to comfort her. Quais de Seine (directed by Gurinder Chadha & written by Chadha & Paul Mayeda Berges) is about a young man (Cyril Decours) who is hanging out with a couple of friends taunting women on the Seine River as he catches the eye of a beautiful, Muslim woman (Leila Bekhti) whom he befriends as she leaves for prayer at a nearby mosque as he waits for her. In Le Marais (written & directed by Gus Van Sant), a male customer named Gaspard (Gaspard Ulliel) is with Marianne Faithfull as he finds himself attracted to a young man (Elias McConnell) as he talks to him about soulmates despite the fact that this young man barely understands him.

In Tuileres (written & directed by Joel & Ethan Coen), a tourist (Steve Buscemi) is waiting in the Tuileres station, he reads a book about Paris where he breaks an unspoken rule about eye contact where he catches the eye of a young woman (Julie Bataille) only to anger her boyfriend (Axel Keiner) where he finds himself in trouble while getting hit with spitballs from a child. Loin du 16e (written & directed by Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas) tells the story of a young woman (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who leaves her baby behind at a daycare as she sings him a lullaby. After leaving her child, she takes a long journey from one side of the city to another as she works as a nanny for a rich woman to take care of her baby. Porte de Choisy (directed by Christopher Doyle & written by Doyle, Gabrielle Keng, & Kathy Li) involves a beauty products salesman (Barbet Schroder) whose meeting with a salon owner (Li Xin) nearly proves to be disastrous until the look he gives her proves to be a hit with her customers.

Bastille (written & directed by Isabelle Coixet) tells the story of a man (Sergio Castellitto) who decides to leave his wife (Miranda Richardson) for a younger woman (Leonor Watling) until his wife tells him some news that makes him rethink his decision as it's told in a third-person narration. Place des Victoires (written & directed by Nobuhiro Suwa) features a woman (Juliette Binoche) still coping with the death of her young son (Martin Combes) as her grief is suddenly comforted by a mysterious yet magical cowboy (Willem Dafoe). Tour Eiffel (written & directed by Sylvain Chomet) is told by a little boy (Dylan Gomong) of how his mime parents (Paul Putner & Yolande Moreau) meet and fell in love. Parc Monceau (written & directed by Alfonso Cuaron) is about an old man (Nick Nolte) who decides to meet a young woman (Ludivine Sagnier) based on an arrangement for a man named Gaspard as they talk about their own troubles in one continuous shot.

Quartier de Enfants Rouge (written & directed by Olivier Assayas) features an American actress (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who befriends a dealer (Lionel Dray) as she procures some strong hashish she needed before going to work on a costume drama. Place des Fetes (written & directed by Oliver Schmitz) features a wounded man (Seydou Boro) who is trying to talk to a woman (Aissa Maiga) whom he had met and fallen for some time ago as he tried to find her and ask her for a cup of coffee. Pigalle (written & directed by Richard LaGravenese) features an aging couple (Bob Hoskins & Fanny Ardant) trying to reinvigorate their marriage and love life as they contend with aging and their upcoming doom. In Quartier de la Madeleine (written & directed by Vincenzo Natali), a backpacking tourist (Elijah Wood) is walking late at night when he catches a vampiress (Olga Kurylenko) biting someone as she catches him as he falls in love with her.

Pere-Lachaise (written & directed by Wes Craven) features a soon-to-be-married couple (Rufus Sewell & Emily Mortimer) visiting famous grave sites as the woman is upset by her lover's lack of humor while they catch the grave of Oscar Wilde where during a tense moment, the man finds inspiration from the ghost of Oscar Wilde (Alexander Payne). Faubourg Saint-Denis (written & directed by Tom Tykwer) tells the story of a blind man (Melchior Beslon) who receives a call from his actress-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) about a break-up as he recalls the memories of their love life and their decline. Quartier Latin (directed by Gerard Depardieu & Frederic Auburtin & written by Gena Rowlands) tells the story of an old couple (Gena Rowlands & Ben Gazarra) set to divorce as they talk about their life for one last drink on the day before they officially separate. In 14e Arrondissement (written & directed by Alexander Payne), an American tourist (Margo Martindale) takes a trip to Paris and in rough French, where she goes through the sites of the city and wonders about the city and herself.

Essentially, the film is about Paris and the stories of love surrounding the place through its characters and interactions with the city or something. In many ways, it's a joyous collection of shorts from some of the world's greatest directors in this cinematic tour guide in the City of Lights. For some directors like Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant, Gurinder Chadha, and the Coen Brothers, it's an opportunity to take a story each told in five minutes and use it to emphasize their themes and such. Payne's story of an American tourist telling her story in rough French emphasizes the director's mix of melancholia and humor as it's told wonderfully. The Coen Brothers segment with regular Steve Buscemi is a funny take on the don'ts at a subway. Gus Van Sant's segment will remind audiences of his early work like Mala Noche and My Own Private Idaho revels in the director's themes of gay love and disappointments. Then there's Gurinder Chadha's poignant tale of a young man falling for a young Muslim woman as he is captivated by her beauty. That short is another emphasis on Chadha's worldly view on Muslims and their mystical beauty.

The shorts of these directors along with the shorts of Sylvain Chomet, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Nobuhiro Suwa, and Vincenzo Natali are the real highlights among the 18 shorts shown on film. Chomet, who is known as an animated film director, brings a delightful story told through mimes as it's truly one of the most entertaining. Tom Tykwer's short about a declining relationship told from one's memory is engrossed in the German auteur's unique style of fast-forward editing, sharp camera work, and electronic music as it emphasizes some of the film's emotional moments. Wes Craven's short is a surprise of sorts from the director who is known for horror and thrillers as he brings a wonderful take on romantic comedy with help from Alexander Payne as Oscar Wilde. Nobuhiro Suwa's emotional story of loss reminds audiences of Juliette Binoche's work from Krzystof Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs: Bleu with a wonderful appearance from Willem Dafoe as a cowboy in a strange, fantasy sequence.

While a lot of the shorts are mostly told in a dramatic fashion, Vincenzo Natali's short features no dialogue and is a mix of horror, comedy, silent-film, and romance as it's one of the film's finest shorts with wonderful performances from Elijah Wood and Olga Kurylenko. Other shorts that are memorable include Olivier Assayas' short with Maggie Gyllenhaal that features a grainy-like camera work to emphasize her character's hazy state of mind through hashish. Renowned Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle explores his familiar world with Asians in a wonderful short with Barbet Schroder and Li Xin that is filled of humor and references to French actresses. Bruno Podalydes' short was a great opener to the film as it emphasizes the accidental meetings between man and woman. Isabel Coixet's short was also strong that showed a man's choice between one woman and another forces him to question his loyalties.

The Richard LaGravenese short with Fanny Ardant and Bob Hoskins is one filled with lots of humor that featured the French actress and British actor playing off each other through great comedic timing. Gerard Depardieu & Frederic Auburtin's short that featured Depardieu as a restaurant owner is a joy to watch that is also in a style reminiscent of John Cassavetes with a script by Gena Rowlands as she and Cassavetes associate Ben Gazarra do amazing work with Rowlands displaying herself gracefully in the short. Another strong short is Oliver Schmitz short featuring African actors in a story of love and desperation proving the film's diversity. Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas' short tells a great story with a wonderfully understated performance from Catalina Sandino Moreno though it's one story that is depressing.

With every anthology film, there's some great shorts and some really good ones. Then, there's those that don't do as well. This is in the case of the short by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, which is surprising considering his reputation for great films. The problem with his short that features Nick Nolte & Ludivine Sagnier is told through one, uncut, unedited, continuous shot. While on a technical level, it's a great idea yet the result is style over substance. The tracking shot is really a distraction as the story of this old man and young woman talking doesn't have a lot of depth. Nolte and Sagnier are fine actors but the material they're working with isn't very good and Cuaron's overwhelming emphasis on technical style over the story definitely causes a problem. It's the one short that doesn't work in some respects.

With some amazing technical work in the editing, different styles of cinematography with contributions from Eric Gautier and Bruno Dubonnel, and the music to convey the romanticism of Paris. The film flows easily as for most of the time, the film is well-paced with very few bumps while the overall aspect is entertaining. Yet, with directors bringing in their own style of storytelling as well as a vision. The result is truly mesmerizing. Even with a diverse cast of actors from legends like Fanny Ardant, Gena Rowlands, and Bob Hoskins to famed character actors like Steve Buscemi and Sergio Castellitto, to young talents like Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, and Gaspard Ulliel.

Paris, Je T'aime is an extraordinary short that is a must have for fans of anthology films. For anyone who loves the work of Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, the Coen Brothers, Gurinder Chadha, Tom Tykwer, and Alexander Payne will no doubt find shorts worthy of their rich filmography along with surprises from Sylvain Chomet, Nobuhiro Suwa, and Vincenzo Natali. For anyone who dreams of going to the City of Lights will no doubt enjoy this tour of one of the most beloved cities in the world. In the end, for anyone who wants to say they've been to Paris but not physically, Paris, Je T'aime is the film to go see.

Related: New York, I Love You - (Tsibilis, I Love You) - Rio, Eu Te Amo

(C) thevoid99 2011