The Triplets of Belleville
The Triplets of Belleville on DVD |
The Triplets of Belleville is one
very strange movie.
It's an animated film that will bore kids to tears -- and
drive adults crazy.
It's hand-drawn in the age of computer automation. It's
visually arresting -- beautiful in places, beyond gross in others.
It's also filled with sight gags, movie in-jokes,
outrageous caricatures, and such hyperkinetic energy that it might cause some viewers to
go into convulsions.
And then there's the music, which is delightfully witty.
And weird.
Actually, that weirdness is a huge part of what I loved
about it. It is not like any other movie I’ve ever seen. If you think that's a
recommendation (and I meant it as one), you'll probably love Triplets; if that
alarms you, you’ll absolutely loathe it.
My wife walked out on it. Triplets is very close to
dialogue-free, and what dialogue does exist is in equal measures French, English, Franglais,
and complete gibberish (and a soupçon of Yiddish, I think).
Without speech, the film tells its tale by an accretion of
details -- many of them quite bizarre.
Halfway through the film, my wife demanded, "Is
anything ever going to happen?" Then she walked out.
I would have answered, "But we've just seen a fat,
lonely boy grow up to become a great bicycle racer, only to be kidnapped by the wine mafia
and taken to America, where he will be exploited in fake bicycle races run by gamblers.
His grandmother and dog chase him across the Atlantic in a paddleboat and join forces with
three superannuated jazz singers that live on frogs they harvest with hand grenades."
But then things got really complicated and I was so
transfixed by the next plot developments that I hardly noticed she'd left.
Still, I suppose I should give you fair warning: The
Triplets of Belleville doesn't have a normal story structure. Heck, it doesn't have a
normal anything.
French animator-director Sylvain Chomet has crafted
something sui generis in The Triplets of Belleville. His characters have the
gawky individuality (and not-so-hidden menace) of Gahan Wilson or Ronald Searle or Gerald
Scarfe. The people ain't pretty, that's for sure -- but some of the scenes have
breathtaking visual power.
The city of Belleville (which seems to be equal parts
Manhattan and Montreal) gleams like a jewel, and bustles with a vigor that partakes of
modern times with a verve reminiscent of the jazz age.
As Madame Souza and Bruno wander through its streets, they
are surrounded by the fattest people you've ever seen -- Belleville is the land of plenty
and its citizens show it. Then there are the Mafiosi, who are divided into immense
square-shouldered thugs and diminutive somnambulant capos with bulbous, gin-blossomed
noses. Not that the film's heroes are drawn with greater sympathy -- Madame Souza is built
like a fireplug, Bruno is the most obese dog you'll ever see, and the bicycle racer
(credited as "The Champion," but never called by name) is a gaunt stick with
bulging thighs, and calves that pop out of his legs like softballs.
The titular triplets are downright scary, but
they're game for anything and, along with Madame Souza, execute an escape that would put
Rambo and James Bond to shame.
If all of this sounds confusing, it is. But so is Duck
Soup. If you insist that comedy be linear or logical, the anarchic high spirits and
everything-including-the-kitchen-sink approach of Triplets will definitely put you
off. However, I found it liberating -- and exhilarating.
The video quality of Triplets is superb -- mostly.
The opening sequence -- which is simulated archival black-and-white footage -- looks
edge-enhanced, but the rest of the film is first-rate: high-def, anamorphic widescreen
(1.78:1, although I believe the theatrical release was 1.66:1). The colors are bold, and
the backgrounds as detailed as anything by Jonathan Demme.
The sound is extremely good Dolby Digital 5.1 and, since
the dialogue is sparse and not exclusively in any language, the soundtrack is
mostly Foley generated. My wife asked if it offered subtitles -- but it doesn't. No matter
which language option you click, you'll be convinced you chose the wrong one.
Triplets doesn't come with many extra features, but
the ones it includes are choice. There's a wonderfully strange music video, a
six-minute-long "Making of The Triplets of Belleville" featurette, which
is pretty fascinating (and it has subtitles). Also included are three selected
scenes with Chomet's commentary. (Most hilarious line: Chomet describes a collaborator
arguing that the scene in which Fred Astaire is eaten by his tap shoes should have ended
with Astaire winning the battle, commenting "I think he didn’t understand
the spirit of the film.")
Actually, that's about as good a weather vane as you'll
encounter for The Triplets of Belleville. If that offhand comment tickles your
funny bone, you're going to love this DVD. If not, you'll probably want to join my wife in
another room until it's over.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
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