A step back proves to be a step forward for animation (Belleville Rendez-vous).

Sylvain Chomet’s 2003 epic masterpiece Belleville Rendez-vous is a film that brings animation back to its roots and proves to be a reminder of the reason for its endurance over the last hundred years. The film’s mix of classic mid-1900’s style animation, contemporary dark satire, penetrating perception and surreal inventiveness, captures the imagination of both young and old in a way that most 21^st century animation has long forgotten. Finally there seems to be a move away from Pixar’s formulaic, computer generated characters which lack the essential acuity and detail in their characterisations to convey depths of meaning.

 

Belleville Rendez-vous follows the story of Madam Souza, her grandson Champion and his beloved pet dog, Bruno. As Champion grows up, Madam Souza notices his restlessness. Trying various methods to entertain him, she finally buys him a bike and from then on man and bicycle are inseparable. As Champion enters manhood, his lifelong obsession finds an outlet, the Tour de France.

After rigorous training, the time finally arrives for him to live up to his name. However, no sooner as the race has begun, then he is kidnapped by two mysterious men in black; later revealed to be part of the French Mafia. Thus begins the adventure of Madam Souza and her faithful but obsessive compulsive dog, Bruno, as they travel across the vast ocean to the giant metropolis of Belleville on a mission to rescue the captive Champion. On route they encounter a succession of wonderfully drawn characters, including three eccentric, washed-up female performers from the 1930’s and an expressionless but forbidding Mafia chief. As the tale develops, events become steadily shadier, revealing a darker and more twisted undertone to the otherwise surreal but light-hearted adventure.

Brilliantly detailed and thoroughly thought out, Belleville Rendez-vous is a breath of fresh air for animated films. Chomet’s decision to emulate not only the visual style of 1930’s animation, but the sound of the period as well, works marvellously with the film’s subject and storyline. With no dialogue at all, most of the characters convey their feelings though a kind of mime, putting great strain on the precise characterisations of each figure. Yet the animation bares this pressure remarkably. By means of wonderfully grotesque and exaggerated characters, Chomet manages to avoid completely the obvious pitfall with regards to scrapping the dialogue, of becoming dull. In fact, far from detracting from its substance, the lack of speech actually adds to the film’s impact. Effectively, it is through Belleville Rendez-vous’ silence that Chomet makes his most perceptive and satirical commentary.

Most of Chomet’s remarks focus on contemporary consumerism and the detrimental effect this has on the individual person. Through witty and insightful depictions, this film satirises the disposable nature of modern capitalist culture. The musical group The Triplets serve as a reminder of this. Once attracting the rich and famous in Belleville, they are abandoned by society and reduced to playing in little run-down nightclubs, earning barely enough to get by. This wasteful tendency is further highlighted by The Triplet’s actual performance. Refusing to throw anything away, the group use house-hold items as instruments and provide the film with a fantastically unique and tuneful soundtrack. Inspired by the experimental jazz era of the 1930’s, music plays a big part in Chomet's work.

It is extremely refreshing to watch a film with so many inventive and vivid ideas. The re-working of traditional animation allows this film to have extraordinary character and insight. Ultimately, Belleville Rendez-vous re-reminds us of the capabilities of animation and shows us that a film can be funny and entertaining as well as poignant.