La Belle et la Bête Beauty and the Beast, 1946 (France) B&W 96min
Director & screenwriter: Jean Cocteau
Cinematography: Henri Alekan
Cast:
Jean Marais … La Bête (The Beast) / The Prince / Avenant
Josette Day … Belle
Nane Germon … Adélaïde
Marcel André … Belle’s father
故事就是你我知道的那個 “美女與野獸” ( 所以這應該也是 Jean Coctueau 最好懂的電影 ), 但是在戰後物資極度缺乏的年代, 詩人導演 Cocteau 卻把這則童話變成真正的魔法, 在這個電腦特效橫行的年代看 “La Beel et la Bête”, 反而更能突顯導演的天才, 還有電影最根本的魅力吧.
如果說我在 “Orphee (1949)” 裡看到死神的手套和鏡子的小特效, 有種眼睛一亮的驚奇, 那本片中野獸的城堡簡直就是讓人驚豔得倒吸一口氣, 由牆壁延伸出來, 由真人的手構成的燭台, 和真人扮演, 眼神會隨人物移動而流轉的人型雕像, 野獸獸性無法控制時發出的煙暈, 散發著一種哥德式黑色混合著魔幻夢境的氣氛. Jean Marais ( 他也同時飾演喜歡 Belle 的輕浮年輕人 Avenant ) 在此示範了如何在全身毛茸茸的野獸裝之下, 單靠眼神, 語調和動作演戲.
最後的結局看似 happy ending, 但我覺得導演還是有點諷刺美好童話的意味的, 否則野獸不會說出 “If I were a man, perhaps I could. But the poor beasts who want to prove their love can only grovel on the ground, and die.” 如此讓人同情的台詞, 也不會讓野獸在死去後, 又 “變身” 成風度翩翩, 但是服裝很花俏, 感覺反而更像 Avenant 的王子呀 : ) 又或者, 這一切可以引申為從納粹佔領下重生的法國呢?
Cocteau, a poet and surrealist, was not making a “children’s film” but was adapting a classic French tale that he felt had a special message after the suffering of World War II: Anyone who has an unhappy childhood may grow up to be a Beast….Cocteau uses haunting images and bold Freudian symbols to suggest that emotions are at a boil in the subconscious of his characters.
French Films review and essay
Derek Malcolm’s Century of Films
