茶碗蒸

The waves were angry as they crashed dramatically over the rusty iron chains along Rocks Road yesterday, sending up sprays of foam that showered over the road like tiny white bullets. My windscreen wipers worked ferociously as I drove directly into the firing range, and after a while I could no longer tell if they were fighting forces from the sea or the sky, for rain was also pelting down in sheets of needles, mingling with the waves to form a soundless icy web that enveloped my little cocoon of safety in the car.

Such was my determination, and excitement, to be part of something beautiful and that only happened once a year in Nelson.

I first knew of the French film festival in Nelson about a month ago, while browsing the local cinema website for my next movie adventure. While looking through the list of showings at the time, quite a few had caught my eye but there was only one that seemed to follow on perfectly from my Saturday work roster. And that was “La belle et la bête” – otherwise known as Beauty and the Beast, one of my all-time favourite fairytales.

So without a moment’s hesitation, I booked myself a ticket one month in advance to ensure that I would not miss out on this opportunity to immerse myself in a bit of elegant lilting Français J

When I arrived at the cinema, the lobby was unusually crammed with people. It was most probably from the wet weather coinciding with the first week of the festival. But I didn’t let that put me off getting a lovely cup of hot chocolate (already had my flat white earlier in the day – boohoo), and snapping a few photos of the cute little French touches in the decorations around the bustling place.

To be honest, I'm sure everyone is already very familiar with this famous folklore and I must say the movie was very loyal in including all the elements that made the story the legend it is today. The strong bond between a father and daughter that propelled the first to stumble into the path of danger, and gave the later courage to make an enormous sacrifice. The magic castle with a dark and mysterious secret. The beast hiding an equally undecipherable past. The rose. The predictable plot aside though, I think the film did incredible justice to the beauty of storytelling. Especially through the magical way the scenes seemed to slide into one another as smoothly as melting butter off a hot knife. There were cliché moments, of course – such as the movie beginning with the opening of a great ancient book, and the antagonists being all-too-obvious that’s who they were. But I was way too mesmerized by the way the ink from the pages came to life to care much, and the absolutely stunning visuals the movie was able to depict down to such extraordinary detail more than made up for it from my point of view.

Even after the movie had ended, and people were filtering out of the theatre in low thoughtful murmurs, I found myself replaying images from the castle in my mind in awe. The crumbling pillars wrapped in thick ivy, the cracked and pitted marble floors scattered with crunchy rose petals, the bleak and eerie statues frozen in a frightening stare through their sparkling ruby eyes. It was just astonishing - the level of effort and attention that went into conjuring up the scenes and to set the mood as Belle took in the grandeur of the castle. To put it simply, watching the film was a feast to the senses. The director and his team took care of everything to throw the audience right into the castle with the characters – not just with the breath-taking visuals or even sounds like the soft tinkling of water as it trickled into the pond, but what impressed me was the attempt to incorporate touch and taste into the experience as well. Such was the wonder I felt as I watched a character bite into a juicy chicken drumstick (smacking lips and all), and as Belle slowly ran her fingers along the smooth hide of a deer spread over her bed… let me assure you it is definitely worthwhile to watch the film just to see why I was so amazed!

As you can probably imagine just from the vivid portrayal of the scenes, the costumes were just equally dazzling. Perhaps the French reputation of being one of the top countries in the fashion industry has something to do with this, but by golly, what an overwhelming array of gowns this film has staged for the audience! Right from the beginning, in fact, I found myself waiting in excited anticipation for the next gown to make an appearance – is it going to be red? Pink? Yellow? And what other extravagant headpieces and jewelry is it going to be matched with? Perhaps it would make me sound hopelessly vain and romantic, but I blame the old love for fantasy stashed away inside me. Besides, who doesn’t like to appreciate something beautiful?

In terms of the acting though, I must say it was a bit disappointing. It was all very well that all the characters looked suitable for their parts, but this was definitely not meant to be an Oscar-nominated piece. Belle, in particular, was quite aloof in some parts of the film when I was expecting her to be more warm and filled with laughter (maybe she was, according to French standards??) The relationship between her and the Beast could also have been developed further – their love appeared quite abrupt in my opinion, and it just simply didn’t make a lot of sense for her to fear him one day, then love him the next. Perhaps this was difficult in the time constraints of a film under two hours, but I think her change in attitude towards the Beast could be more obvious as his past was gradually revealed to her.

A side note that I feel strongly inclined to add though – my goodness the moving stone giants were brilliant! Their chiseled faces and cold expressions as they were awakened… 太帥啦~~ XD (What strange taste I have hahaha)

So overall, a very entertaining film to see as part of the French Film Festival! I do hope that I will get a chance to savour a few other intriguing-looking works on the pragramme, for this was indeed a fantastic way to kick-start my appetite!! (Gosh I hope this isn't a sign I should be learning French too - barely keeping up with Italian as it is!! XD)