The New Hampshire

Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Arts & Living

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo

The Triplets of Belleville won't be the most controversial or thought-provoking film you will see this year at Film Underground, but it'll definitely be the one with the most style. Written and directed by French animator Sylvain Chomet, it centers on the exploits of old Madame Souza, who employs the help of an aging 1930s era singing trio in order to save her cyclist grandson. Her grandson has been kidnapped to power a gambling machine in the fictional city of Belleville.

Hopefully you won't be coming for the story.

The Triplets of Belleville is a visual delight more than anything else. The animation here is one of the most original you're ever likely to see. Chomet creates a completely peculiar and unique style, where every character and cityscape is grossly exaggerated. Madame Souza, barely taller than her dog, makes for an unlikely protagonist, but her quirkiness only adds to the odd feel of the animation. Every character has its own distinct characteristics, like the cyclist Champion's disproportionately muscular legs. The world they inhabit is equally bizarre. With its distorted style, the film almost borders on creepy at times. In fact this earned it a PG-13 rating; not for violence or language, but for pure weirdness. It is impossible to describe the visuals, be it the 20 story high ships, the man-eating shoes, or the dog used as a car tire. You just have to experience it for yourself.

This exaggeration works perfectly, however, as Chomet extensively plays on stereotypes in The Triplets of Belleville, both French and American. The film begins in what is apparently Paris. Champion becomes a cyclist and enters the Tour de France where he is kidnapped. The cycling idea is a recurring visual theme, like the pedaling-powered gambling machine Champion is brought to. The Triplets themselves (the aging singing trio) are fond of eating frogs, which they catch using hang grenades. There are also numerous caricatures of French figures, such as Charles de Gaulle or Joséphine Baker. The city of Belleville, however, is meant as an overt American stereotype, with its towering buildings and obese and rude inhabitants. All this is playful, rather than critical, and only helps to enhance the over-the-top visual style.

The most appealing aspect of The Triplets of Belleville is that it is quintessentially French. It will be highly unorthodox to American eyes, as everything from the story to the characters is a complete departure from American animation. Chomet himself criticized recent Disney films in "The Age," an Australian newspaper. He believes traditional American animation only repeats the same formulas that originated decades ago and that these films are dominated by "the marketing people who want to sell toys more than finding interesting characters." It seems American animation (with the exclusion of Pixar's computer animated films) has hit a dead end; it is unable to produce the same originality it once found with the classics we grew up with. Chomet strives to be a new voice in animation with The Triplets of Belleville, to create a style that is not only distinct from American cinema but that is faithful to his French roots. There is certain nostalgia to Chomet's film: a retro, 1950s-era look that permeates his world. It is as if he is harkening back to another age in cinema, one when animation always broke new ground and when France still had that typical French flavor that is quickly disappearing from it.

The Triplets of Belleville is undoubtedly one of the most unique French films, let alone animated, to come out in a very long time. It is a cinematic experience unlike any you're likely to see and well worth your time if you're looking for something different in the world of animation.

As always, Film Underground presents a free screening, Thursday, April 3rd at 7:00 p.m. in MUB Theatre I.

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