I love it when I get to go into a movie without knowing anything about it and just letting it wash over me. Belle was that experience for me. The title (a literal translation) appears to have little or nothing to do with the plot (I assume there is nuanced meaning in the title that doesn't translate well) so Belle ends up being a very different movie than an English audience would expect. It is about identity and finding oneself. Sure that's not an uncommon theme, but the narrative in Belle and how it gets there is more unique than one might think.
This is the story of a school girl who, after the death of her mother while she was young, is never able to find a way to function in the world socially. She struggles with interactions from the very personal (with her doting father) to the more structural (the other kids at school). That is until she finds an online social network (a la Ready Player One) that allows her to be a stunning pop singer that takes over the virtual world by storm. She watches her avatar blow up on social media from her shy isolated life with only her nerdy best friend knowing this unassuming little school girl is the pop star de jour.
From there the story starts riffing on Beauty and the Beast and then turns into a powerful drama about domestic abuse and isolation. It is all quite effective and moving. The story impressed me far more than I expected, and it effected me far more as well. The ending is cathartic and moving in ways I didn't expect.
And Belle is a gorgeous film from the lovely watercolour "real" world of our protagonist to the fantastic online world of U (the virtual community she joins) Belle oscillates between the two beautiful worlds and takes full advantage of its differing animation styles to bring both to life.
Belle is certainly more than I expected and might be more than you sign up for as well.
Belle The Dragon and the Freckled Princess
Writer/Director: Mamoru Hosoda
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