THE HISTORIC CINEMA DRAMA “BELLE” IS INDEED A BELLE EPOCH!
From a court painting dated 1779, three years after the
American Revolution and 13 years before the French Revolution the gilded life
of a black noblewoman named Dido Elizabeth Belle has come into new light in the
form of the 2013 film “BELLE”. The film
is brilliant on all levels and visits places that “The Duchess,” another
intensely vivid exploration of 18th century womanhood, could not go;
alas, it is a truly different story. That
the late 18th century evolved into a proving ground for the ideals
of the Enlightenment which had been brewing for over 150 years is fully evinced
in this film. Abolition in England was
ripe for the ending of slavery as early as 1782 but the Slavery Abolition Act
was not turned into law until 1833. Belle
delves into the caldarium of slavery, racism, interracial relationships, class-ism,
sexism and happily plain old fashioned love.
The costume and set design are impeccably in sync with the current fashion trend consisting of revivals of the the 17th through 19th centuries. The costumes are magnificent! The eighteenth century was a highly
decorative era for ladies and men’s fashion and architecture, it was the height of the exuberantly ornamental Baroque Era. Neither expense nor attention
to detail was spared in the faithful recreation of the 1790's for this production largely filmed in period English homes and exceptional pains were even taken to reproduce the slums and the bustling but raunchy commercial districts along the Thames river in late 18th century London..
There were no tongue-in-cheek anachronisms or oversights such as electrical fixtures or outlets in the walls or modern skyscrapers in the palatial or urban vistas, the visual
experience was remarkably immaculate.
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The screenplay was also masterfully written and acted. This is one of the few films where I can honestly say every performance was superlative even down to the coach drivers and that is not only due to the artifice and talent of the actors but also to the skillfulness of the director and camera crews.
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The lighting for this film recreated the soft interior glow of candles and fire-lit exteriors, the genuine play of light was not forgotten, the intensity and cavernousness of interior daylight within the grand and ornate halls and chambers was brilliantly utilised. Shading and shadowing techniques were brilliantly applied to accentuate the rich textures and intense moods of the film. The movie,
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Belle, was filmed entirely during the spring and summer of the Island upon which it takes place and the vivid 18th century colors juxtaposed against a verdant backdrop catapults this movie into a realm of one of the most beautiful to capture the landscape of the Isles.
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The musical sound track was engineered to inspire tears, joyfulness and suspense; it kept to the harpsichord, and the typical instruments and compositions of the age. In the movie Belle played a melancholy classical piano solo and her sister a lively courting song. the soundtrack was a mellow but critical element narrating the mood of the film and it took pause to allow itself a soft, secondary role so that the main focus could be the acting and other visual effects.
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Through the screenplay the audience is stolen and taken back into an aristocratic world that existed over 234 years ago. it was written in a traditional and eloquent English aristocratic style that retained the ability to convey the minds of historical characters in ways that verified that they thought not so very differently from the way we think. I always enjoy when a film can prove the human condition is common to all times. The floral but direct nature of 18th century aristocratic English was played to the fullest in its explication of the complex layers of class embedded into the social etiquette of the day. The screenplay effectively clarified the distinction between tradition and the law it was as much written from a lawyers mind as it was from the mind of a woman of those times...
The screenplay was also masterfully written and acted. This is one of the few films where I can honestly say every performance was superlative even down to the coach drivers and that is not only due to the artifice and talent of the actors but also to the skillfulness of the director and camera crews.
The lighting for this film recreated the soft interior glow of candles and fire-lit exteriors, the genuine play of light was not forgotten, the intensity and cavernousness of interior daylight within the grand and ornate halls and chambers was brilliantly utilised. Shading and shadowing techniques were brilliantly applied to accentuate the rich textures and intense moods of the film. The movie,
Belle, was filmed entirely during the spring and summer of the Island upon which it takes place and the vivid 18th century colors juxtaposed against a verdant backdrop catapults this movie into a realm of one of the most beautiful to capture the landscape of the Isles.
The musical sound track was engineered to inspire tears, joyfulness and suspense; it kept to the harpsichord, and the typical instruments and compositions of the age. In the movie Belle played a melancholy classical piano solo and her sister a lively courting song. the soundtrack was a mellow but critical element narrating the mood of the film and it took pause to allow itself a soft, secondary role so that the main focus could be the acting and other visual effects.
Through the screenplay the audience is stolen and taken back into an aristocratic world that existed over 234 years ago. it was written in a traditional and eloquent English aristocratic style that retained the ability to convey the minds of historical characters in ways that verified that they thought not so very differently from the way we think. I always enjoy when a film can prove the human condition is common to all times. The floral but direct nature of 18th century aristocratic English was played to the fullest in its explication of the complex layers of class embedded into the social etiquette of the day. The screenplay effectively clarified the distinction between tradition and the law it was as much written from a lawyers mind as it was from the mind of a woman of those times...
BELLE, shows a very different perspective of the black
experience. It shows how a woman wrapped
in the trappings of wealth and privilege but stigmatized by race was able to
overcome the hesitancy of a world for which change was inevitable by living
that change using her affluence to make a difference. As such it also hints a clear message to affluent blacks of this century by demonstrating how privilege ought to be
used. One might argue that it was easy
for a woman of privilege to defy the odds yet again one might as easily answer
it with, “Why”? the “Why” is at the very
heart of this film, it explains everything in a uncluttered human scale. While we acknowledge that the actual life of
this woman is a complete mystery we can also concede that elucidated in the mythic
drama of this amazing film her life truly defined an extraordinarily powerful, “BELLE EPOCH”!
FIN
WRITTEN BY: DAVID VOLLIN
ADMINISTRATOR: FOR THE BROTHAS, A VIRTUAL, INTELLECTUAL AND
CULTURAL SALON
VISIT US AT: WWW.FORTHEBROTHAS.BLOGSPOT.COM
UNE GALLERIE D'IMAGES
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