Belleville Rendezvous (The Triplets Of Belleville) Film Review
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Voices: Beatrice Bonifassi, Lina Boudreau, and Michele Caucheteux.
Here is Yellow Magpie’s Belleville Rendezvous (The Triplets Of Belleville) film review.
‘Belleville Rendezvous’ is a delightful tour de force, brimming over with astonishing creativity and refreshing story-telling.
This clever little gem, tells the story of Madame Souza and her lonely grandson Champion
‘Belleville Rendezvous’, (also known as The Triplets Of Rendezvous) is a quirky, off-beat animated film which will not only entertain older children but will also definitely be a winner with adults.
This clever little gem, tells the story of a grandmother, Madame Souza and her lonely grandson, Champion. Having tried numerous ways to entertain Champion, Madame Souza finally hits on the idea of buying her grandson a bicycle. Champion takes to the bicycle with great gusto and soon is training night and day for the Tour de France, with Madame Souza acting as his mentor and trainer.
However, when Champion enters the Tour de France he is kidnapped by two members of the French mafia who use him in a betting scam.
There are numerous highlights in this film, none more so than the Belleville Triplets, who open the film with the zany, eponymous theme song,’ Belleville Rendezvous’.
Without a moments hesitation the strong willed Madame Souza sets out to rescue her beloved grandson with Bruno, their faithful hound in tow. What follows is a riveting and cleverly told yarn, which sees Madame Souza travelling to the sprawling city of Belleville, where she hooks up with three ageing, eccentric showgirls otherwise known as the Belleville Triplets, Rose, Blanche and Violette, named after the colour of the French flag.
The triplets help Madame Souza to track down her grandson.
There are numerous highlights in this film, none more so than the Belleville Triplets, who open the film with the zany, eponymous theme song,’Belleville Rendezvous‘. The animation in this scene is inspired and their madcap song is accompanied by an equally wacky band. In addition their song is interspersed by acts such as a Fred Astaire look alike whose tap dancing shoes appear to have a life of their own.
Then there is the black topless female dancer who at the end of her act has most of her feathers pulled off by the men in the audience who storm the stage.
The singing triplets sequence sets a high standard for the rest of the film which is a curious mix of brilliantly animated scenes and unique story lines.
‘Belleville Rendezvous’, is an ingenious film, artful witty and innovative.’
Another triumph is the diminutive Madame Souza, the canny grandma who will go to the ends of the earth to rescue her beloved grandson. Savvy and sharp with a penchant for pushing her glasses up onto her nose she is a practical but lovable character. Madame Souza is a joy to watch.
Meanwhile the grandson Champion is portrayed as a boy with little else on his mind but his bicycle. His relentless cycling with grandma bringing up the rear on her bike is a hoot. Grandman ensures Champion keeps his rhythm by blowing a whistle which she keeps in her mouth. This is another screwball scene which is odd, entertaining and highly memorable.
‘This is a dog with a difference, like everything in this film.’
Their pet dog Bruno is equally a star of this wonderful film with his endless barking at trains through the window of their house ,as he patiently waits for Madame Souza and Champion to return from their endless training sessions. This is a dog with a difference, like everything in this film.
‘Belleville Rendezvous’, is an ingenious film, artful witty and innovative. Given that there is hardly any dialogue in the film, the fact that it can keep its audiences engaged is testament to the animators and the writer/director Sylvain Chomet.
In 2004 it was nominated for two Academy awards, Best Animated Feature film and Best Original Song, but lost out to the more commercial animated film Finding Nemo. What a shame. However, Belleville Rendezvous has won numerous other awards and deservedly so.
Belleville Rendezvous is a classic animated film for old and young, one which everyone will enjoy.
Highly Recommended
You can obtain Belleville Rendezvous here from Amazon.
Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom you can access Belleville Rendezvous here.
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For those living in Canada you can obtain Belleville Rendezvous from here.
Amazon.de
For Germany: Belleville Rendezvous.
Amazon.fr
For France: Belleville Rendezvous.
