Tyler Hunt

I remember a while back Tim talking about Les Triplettes de Belleville, so I picked it up tonight as my free rental for the week. I was expecting a lot out of this film after the nominations it received at this year’s Academy Awards, and it certainly lived up to those expectations. It’s one of the most fanciful movies I’ve seen in a while, although it may lead you to believe that the French eat only large bowls of strange gelatinous food substances and have asses the the size of their egos because of it.

One of the most outstanding parts of the movie was the soundtrack, and the catchiness of the title track definitely merits a nomination, although the repetitive annoyance of it didn’t merit an award. Aside from some music, the very minimal dialog really goes to show the power of a such a visual medium as film.

The visuals were fairly stunning a unique, as well. The use of color was one of the most notable stylistic features; highly saturated hues lent a very warm feel to most of the film. It also seems fitting for such a tall tale that many of the objects and people in the movie were shown in an exaggeratedly elongated form. Morphing transitions were a clever artistic touch that brought both humor and continuity to the film.

Part of the thrill of the movie was half expecting something magical to happen at every moment. The brand of humor and wit offered by Triplettes is quite unlike most domestic films, but typical for the French. Some of the bizarreness of it reminded me of Amélie in many ways. Overall, it’s a fairly light-hearted film, heavy on style, but with a healthy does of humor to balance things out.