Few films brim with the kind of cinematic magic as Cocteau’s
La Belle et la Bete. For it’s entire 93 minutes, Cocteau implores us to view
the proceedings with childlike wonder and suspension of disbelief. His call to
order in the prologue asks us to indeed suspend our disbelief, but even more
than that, it’s a request to hearken to our recollection of fairy tales as
children and to adopt that sense of respect for the significance of
imagination. As children our first encounters with the concept of “falling in
love” involve fairy tales, and stories of princesses and princes. These
archetypal stories create a larger than life sense of grandeur and most often,
unrealistic portrayals of true love. Still, our early lives can be shaped in
this way. I’m often reminded of this when I watch films like The Little Mermaid
or Disney’s Beauty and the Beast with my daughters. Cocteau asks us to adopt
this sensitivity when watching his film. Therefore, Belle’s compassion is
unquestioned and The Beast’s good heart shines through and we know things will
work out in the end. This is no knock on the film. For although La Belle et la
Bete is a fairy tale with some predictability, the elements are plenty dark and
sinister enough to lend themselves well to the sense of imagination and
surrealism that Cocteau brought to his cinema. Thus, the sense of childlike
wonder we adopt while watching it is coupled with our adult awareness of
sensuality, carnality, and ambiguity, giving the film just enough of a
subversive angle to mess with our heads.
Belle lives with her father and two sisters, Adelaide and
Felicie, along with her scheming brother Ludovic and friend Avenant (Jean
Marais). Her father goes to settle some debts in a nearby town and on the way
home that night, stumbles upon a strange and sinister castle. This is no
ordinary place. Doors open and close on their own. Candles are held by movable
arms in the hallway. A lone hand pours him a glass of wine at a table. Faces
peer out from the mantle next to the fireplace. He spends the night there but
upon attempting to leave the next day, comes face to face with The Beast (also
Jean Marais), a talking, lion-like creature who stands upon his two feet. The
Beast sentences him to death, but provides him an out. If he gets one of his
daughters to come live with The Beast, the father's life will be spared. The
daughter who accepts this challenge, is Belle. Played by Josette Day, Belle is
a beautiful and slightly mature woman (Day was 32 at the time of filming) who
is keenly aware of the differences between herself and her sisters. They are
manipulative, catty, and superficial. Belle seems to have a piercing sense for
honesty and truth. Thus, her commitment to proceed to the castle attends a
noble kind of cause. She realizes she is called to this challenge. Upon
entering the castle, there exists one of the most gorgeous moments ever to grace
the screen. Against a black hallway and the outstretched candles, Belle runs
with her flowing cape in glorious slow motion through the corridor and up a
flight of stairs. Then she seems to float down a hallway where the curtains
blow in her path. These ethereal and otherworldly transportations heighten our
sense of magic and mystery. When she comes face to face with The Beast, it’s
almost HE that is more afraid than SHE. He can’t handle her looking into his
eyes and will only meet with her every evening at 7pm to ask her to be his
wife. Soon, she begins to see the good in his heart and the struggle within his
soul, and is drawn to him.
There are really interesting psychological moments in the
film which give keys to Belle's and The Beast's state of mind. There’s this
point where Belle is hiding in a corridor and The Beast comes to her door, his
hands smoking after he has killed some animal from hunting. He stops at her
door, perhaps because he wants to enter her chamber and ravish her. When he
finds the room empty, there is a sense of frustration on his face and then he
peers into the magic mirror only to find that she has spied his entrance into
her room. His pride is hurt. She gains the upper hand. Later, after another
time of killing and hunting, he comes to her door, smoke pouring from his body
and blood streaking his clothes. Again, the implication is that he is ready to
continue his “hunt” by entering her chambers. Yet she confronts him boldly at
the doorway, saying that his behavior is beneath him, sending him coldly away.
She will stand for nothing less than respect. He returns this respect to her
when he allows Belle to return home to see her father if she promises to
return. He tells her if she doesn’t return that he will die. Belle is given a
magic glove for transportation and a golden key to the Beast’s magical riches.
When Belle returns home she finds her father very ill. Her sisters become
jealous and steal the key from Belle, and then they set Ludovic and Avenant
into action to kill the beast. Belle is detained beyond the 7 days which the
Beast granted her, and when she returns, find the Beast near death from his
broken heart and spirit. At the close of the film, by miraculous magic (per
fairy tale lore), Ludovic and Avenant are foiled, the Beast is turned into a
prince, and Belle and the Prince fly off into the clouds.
Cocteau uses lots of whimsical touches to infuse his film
with the sense of the otherworldly. Many of the memorable touches involve
rewound film during key moments, like when Belle uses the magic glove and
appears in her house for the first time. Or there are quick editing effects,
like when a tear falls from Belle’s face and her father catches a diamond in
his hand. These creative illusions were one of Cocteau’s greatest strengths as
a director. The magnificent camera-work by Henri Alekan is awash in shadow,
deflected light, and flowing wardrobes. These effects upon the viewer often force
us to confront the unknown….into shadows and down corridors where we aren’t
sure what will happen. Jean Marais fares very well in the Beast costume. I’m
often surprised at how much feeling he is able to convey through his eyes. Day
is the perfect fairy tale heroine, both strong and feminine in her
determinations. At the close of the film, Cocteau infuses a sensible subversion
into our adult heads. The Beast is turned into the handsome prince, and right
away Belle isn’t quite sure she likes the idea. She isn’t ready to trust him
just yet and he looks like someone she knew once. She is disappointed and even
acknowledges it before succumbing to tradition and flying away with the prince,
which makes us wonder whether she would have been even happier with The Beast
as he was! I’m always intrigued by the fact that she was ready to “commit
herself” in love to the Beast. What that looks like in actuality isn’t so
important as the sentiment behind it. That she looked beneath the surface and
found his heart is the true act of love. She didn’t need the human likeness in
him to achieve this epiphany.