Film, News, Reviews
Jan 21, 2022

‘Belle’ Movie Review

Belle is a masterful work of storytelling. Japanese Animation continues to bring to life incredible stories that resonate with the core of humanity’s emotions.

If you can put the splendid animation aside for one moment, and look just at the screenwriting and acting, Belle holds its own alongside Oscar winning greats. It would be a shock not to see this film grab a foreign animated film win at the Oscars, let alone wins across multiple disciplines throughout a variety of award shows. Belle is a fresh re-telling of Beauty and The Beast. Belle‘s beauty has as many emotional scars as the Beast. The film is a heart wrenching look at dealing with the darkness of loosing a loved one, and how that affects your personality. It also draws a sharp parrallel showing the depth of emotional wounds and how they are on par with physical ones, which leave an emotional scar as well. Belle strives to connect its characters through their humanity despite shedding what they look like to become a “new” person in a digital world that gives them the freedom to invent a new life for themselves. A must see.

Belle is a 2021 Japanese animated science fantasy film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Studio Chizu. It follows the story of a high school student who becomes a globally beloved singer after entering a fantastic virtual world. She soon embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of a mysterious beast who’s on the run from ruthless vigilantes. The film leaves you quesitoning who was the beast afterall?