Les Triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville): 2003, dir. Sylvain Chomet. Seen at Dobie (Egyptian Room, Feb. 3).
If you know me personally, in the past couple of weeks I have probably sent you passionate emails or IMs, or grabbed you by the elbow to urge you that you must, absolutely must go see The Triplets of Belleville. You haven’t seen it yet? You want to see it in a theater, it’s not going to look nearly as amazing on a smaller screen, so go. Now.
Well, go after reading this, anyway.
The Triplets of Belleville may be the best 2003 movie I have seen. It is adorable and clever and funny as all hell. It takes a lot of risks and succeeds beautifully.
We saw this movie a few days after Seabiscuit, and it was the perfect antidote. After suffering through a terribly formulaic film, the unpredictable Triplets of Belleville seemed even more delightful.
The Triplets of Belleville is an animated film, but it has far more in common with the films of Jacques Tati than it does with Finding Nemo. (If you pay attention you can see a few sly tributes to Tati during the film.) For one thing, the film has almost no dialogue. It’s full of sound and music that complements the images on the screen. This is a wonderfully visual film, from the hilarious dog to the overwhelming ship that the dog tries to chase.
People have tried to describe the plot of The Triplets of Belleville, but the plot isn’t particularly important. The characters are bizarre yet likeable. (Although I felt very, very sorry for all the poor little froggies.) When I describe elements of this film, it sounds freakishly unwatchable but it’s not, I promise you.
I don’t know what else to say about this movie except that it is a real treat, a rare movie that is strange and different and not at all what I expected … and highly enjoyable.
Okay, now you should go find the theater listings, see if the movie is playing, and get over there.
Well, DANG!!!!!!! I read this too late to get the day off work and the movie apparently ends at every single theatre in Houston today at the 12:30 or 4:30 showing. I knew I’d want to go see it in the theatre (which is RARE these last few years) when you mentioned Jaques Tati. I have videotapes of Mon Oncle and Mr. Hulot’s Holiday that are practically worn out from forcing my friends to watch them if they admit they’ve never seen these two.
It’s playing at Dobie in Austin through next week at least, Grace, so you’ll just have to make a little road trip.
So what is it about? I’d think that’d be an important point to mention in a movie review. Or are you one of those academic reviewers who believe “plot” is a passe, 20th Century concept?
I saw this recently and loved loved loved it….such a crime that Finding Nemo won the Oscar….
The plot is pretty simple and straightforward, but weirdly hard to describe.
The way that the story is told is so much better than the story itself.
(Uh, that was for REM, even though you weren’t asking me.)