Beauty and the Beast

Most movies depend on some realistic approach to achieve their end: slavishly typical settings, naturalism unadulterated, or at least superficially normal situations. When a film can suspend all realism, lose itself in time and place and idea, and still hold the convictions of its audience, it has chalked up the double accomplishment of a successful movie and an artistic ground-breaker.

Great Britain and Laurence Olivier's "Henry V" was hailed on those terms two years ago. Now France's Jean Coctean has made an even more perfect example of the non-realistic film with his "La Belle et La Bete."

The story of "Beauty and the Beast' (English Title) is the familiar one of the prince, enchanted into a hideous monster, who can regain his former state only through the true love of a girl. The Beauty is a girl of humble station and religious soul who is kept by the Beast in his castle. She penetrates the ugly coating of his appearance to feel first pity for the Beast, then real love-thus breaking the spell.

Cocteau treats the story as the enchantment it is. A film of mystery falls over everything in the film--candelabras are gripped by arms that move, statues' eyes follow the characters people appear and disappear at will. Realism is never allowed to intrude anywhere. Instead a web of visual charms is spun about the tale.

Beautiful is the single word which most nearly describes all aspects of the picture. Beauty pervades the exterior and interior scenes. Beauty of sound is in the speech. Beauty in a peculiar sense characterizes the simple story. La Belle is beauty herself. Of course, is appearance and character.

Against this beauty a sinister but obviously not thoroughly bad force wages its fight. The darkness of the nights, the denseness of the forest, and the character of the Beast are evil, but an evil through which good is always trying to burst.

Whether "Beauty and the Beast" gets its contrast of light and dark fully home to its audiences is a question to be decided only by these audiences. Critics have differed on the effectiveness of the film in making its point, indeed on the technical devices themselves.

Fantasy is as you like it in any case. Some people have carped at Cocteau for 'inadequate' makeup of the Beast. if you want to believe, then the makeup of the Beast is of no interest; if you do not want, to the smallest item can destroy the illusion. Those who can appreciate fantasy will find in this Cocteau effort a masterpiece in the form, a work of chidlike loveliness and conviction.