La Belle et la Bête

Beauty and the Beast shows its age, almost 50 years, but the composition of the images and the production design can still captivate. The film is a genuine fairy tale about the beauty Belle, who slaves away all day while her lazy sisters Félicie and Adelaide just issue orders. Their father, a bankrupt merchant who cannot afford servants, is going on a journey and asks his daughters whether they have any wishes. Félicie and Adelaide want expensive jewellery, while Belle merely asks for a rose.

After learning that all his ships have been lost, the father rides home on a stormy night. He comes to a strange castle, where he picks a rose. Then the owner of the castle appears: the beast, who demands the merchant's life or that of one of his daughters as punishment for the theft. When Belle finds out that she is the cause of the misery, she steals off under cover of darkness to the enchanted castle.

Many complications must be overcome before the courteous beast turns into a prince who is the spitting image of Belle's persistent suitor Avenant. The funny thing is that Belle is not overwhelmingly delighted by the transformation, for she had only just got used to the monster.