La Belle et la Bête - Film review

Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête (1946) is a French fantasy story about love, surrounding the beautiful Belle (Josette Day) and a beast (Jean Marais).
It is based on a story written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont which has been recreated by others, most notably by Disney.

Fig.1

The story starts with Belle's father gaining a fortune and promising to buy gifts for his daughters, only for him to lose the fortune immediately, causing him to have to navigate through a forest alone at night which leads him to stumble, lost, into the Beast's castle.
The next morning he picks a rose for Belle, which enrages the Beast who asks for compensation in the form of one of the daughters living with him, of which Belle decides is her job.

Fig.2

The Beast tells Belle that he will ask her to marry him every day, who refuses, but as the time goes Belle finds herself liking the Beast more, as he turns out to be kind despite his monstrous appearance.

Fig.3

The films use of special effects along with costume help the fantasy of the story, whilst still not completely drowning it in unrealistic imagery, making it seem believable. "Henri Alekan’s subtle black and white cinematography combines with Christian Berard’s masterly costumes and set designs to create a magical piece of cinema" (BFI)

Whilst the film isn't inherently a children's film, it does have a dream-like and childish feeling at points. "a film that dared to be naive, asking its audience to revert to childhood, the better to accept its practical magic." (Malcolm, 1999)

Cocteau considered himself as a poet rather than a film maker, and made his films in a way that reflects that. "Cocteau wanted to make a poem, wanted to appeal through images rather than words, and although the story takes the form of the familiar fable, its surface seems to be masking deeper and more disturbing currents" (Ebert, 1999)


Bibliography:
Images:
Figure 1, Poster (1946) [poster] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_Belle_et_la_B%C3%AAte_film.jpg
Figure 2, Film still (1946) [film still] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89SQgutc7aA
Figure 3, Film still (1946) [film still] At: https://wecanthearthemime.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/la-belle-et-la-bete-1946/
Quotes:
BFI (s.d) At: http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/education/gothic-classroom/la-belle-et-la-b-te-1946 (Accessed on 7 November 2017)
Ebert, R (1999) At: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-beauty-and-the-beast-1946 (Accessed on 7 November 2017)
Malcolm, D (1999) At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jul/01/1 (Accessed on 7 November 2017)