The French movie Belle et Sébastien was shown in the U.S. with the title Belle and Sebastian (2013). It was directed by Nicolas Vanier. Félix Bossuet plays Sébastien, a young boy growing up with his grandfather and aunt in the French Alps, just across the border from Switzerland. (Actually, they're not really his grandfather and aunt, but those are the roles they would fill if they were biologically related.The film takes place during WW II. We learn that the French Resistance in the area arranges the safe passage of Jews across the mountains into Switzerland. Naturally, the job of the occupying German soldiers is to stop this process and capture the Jews, along with the Resistance fighters who are helping them. Sébastien doesn't go to school, because his grandfather believes that the boy will learn more by living the life of a mountaineer, learning practical information that will be of greater use than a formal education. That leaves Sébastien free to wander over the area. At one point he meets the huge white dog Belle, and they bond.The local populace--including Sébastien's grandfather--believe that Belle is killing their sheep, and they are trying to find and kill the dog, while Sébastien is trying to protect and save her.In a way, this film is programmed to capture our hearts. Sébastien is a brave and resourceful boy, Belle is gentle and beautiful, and we have all grown up with a cultural history of crying when a wounded Rin-Tin-Tin or Lassie is crawling under the barbed wire.Still, the movie avoids most of these clichés, and Félix Bossuet is truly a gifted young actor. (I'll never understand how directors are able to bring forth such superb acting from children, but they do it. Director Vanier certainly manages it in this movie.) We saw this movie at the Dryden Theatre as part of the wonderful Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. It took real strength on the part of the RIJFF to show this movie. Basically, it isn't about Jews. It's true that the Resistance is helping the Jews, but we only see the Jews as refugees, never as individual characters. The plots are all about Christians. However, that's one of the aspects of the RIJFF that makes it such a great festival--their movies aren't restricted to just a narrow band of "Jewish" films. Belle et Sébastien will really work better on a large screen, because of the incredible mountain scenery. However, if you can't see it on a large screen, see it on a small screen. It's too good to miss. Note: As I write this review, the movie has a tepid 6.8 IMDb rating. I'm not sure why--it's much better than that.

If you have a child who has never seen a foreign film, this would be a great one to start with! Belle and Sebastian is a French movie, by Nicholas Vanier, with English subtitles. Belle and Sebastian is about a young boy, Sebastian and the friendship he makes with Belle, a large dog. She is being blamed for killing the sheep in the village. In fact, the villagers call her "the beast."The movie is set in Nazi-occupied France. There are refugees in the village always escaping at night over the snow-covered mountains into Switzerland. Sebastian is told to stay away from both this part of the mountain and "the beast." But, he can't resist. He finds and tries to protect "the beast," who he names Belle.Sebastian meets up with Belle every day and they run in the fields and play in the snow. He shows her places to hide from the angry villagers and from the German Nazi soldiers. She is Sebastian's friend and he believes that it is not her who is killing the sheep. The scenery in this film is incredible! The snow-covered mountains, grassy hillsides, waterfalls, rocks and panoramic vistas will take your breath away. There are lots of aerial shots in the film that make you wish you lived in France.Parents should know that there is some drinking, lying and cursing, but the characters are trying to do their best given the given circumstances. It can't be easy having your little village be taken over by soldiers. Over-all, the message this movie gives is a good one. "Protect your friends and always try to do the right thing." I recommend this movie for ages ten to eighteen. This is a great age level to introduce appreciation of sub-titled movies. I give Belle and Sebastian four out of five stars for amazing scenery and great acting.

I was actually very surprised to read a few less than stellar reviews on IMDb. From the moment I saw the trailer for this last month I knew it looked right up my alley. I was practically in tears watching the trailer. Then I found a little more about it. It turns out this is a live action version of the 1960's animated French cartoon which I remember from my childhood in the eighties!! Its a beautifully simple, stunningly shot story about a boy and his dog with a side story about World War 2 prisoners escaping to Switzerland through the French mountains. They could have turned this into a full fledged TV Show but they did very well with the time constraints of a movie. I don't mean to imply that its brilliant or breathtaking but it is incredibly sweet and just a very nice family movie with absolutely nothing to be concerned about for the younger audiences save for a few moments of intensity. The melancholy tone of the film keeps you on the edge for each climactic turn and while none of the performances are "amazing" everyone is at least very good. It is easily one of the best "cartoon" adaptations I've ever seen because it simply stands on its own merits.Félix Bossuet is very good as our young hero. One reviewer said he lacked emotion and looked uncomfortable and I did not get that one bit. First of all, he's adorably cute and looks almost animated in a live action sort of way. He looks like a young, free spirited, creative little boy and he makes the role completely believable. Bossuet just had the right look for this role and does well in it. Tchéky Karyo is excellent as Bossuet's Grandfather Cesar. We know right from the beginning that he cares deeply for Sebastian and is teaching him everything he knows. We also know he has a lot of his own dark demons, alcoholism being at the top of that. Karyo is terrific in this role. The only problem is that we don't see enough of him and the film doesn't allow us to really explore his character. Regardless he was one of my favourites in the film. Margaux Châtelier, Dimitri Storoge and Andreas Pietschmann are supporting characters that should have and try to be main characters. They are all very interesting with good back story but there just isn't time to get to know them as characters. Still, their performances are solid and they definitely are integral to a very good film. None of these actors overshadow the performance of that beautiful dog. Perhaps it was more than one dog...I don't know and it doesn't matter. I don't know who the credit goes to but the dog is brilliant. He shows emotion and facial expression and a heart that literally drives the film. Without her and Bossuet this wouldn't have nearly as good.Reviewers said that they expected this to be more emotional but I do think they made this film for children or at least families. They aren't trying to be emotionally extreme though there are moments. I watched these with tears streaming down my face when the "beast" is hunted and shot because I already felt the connection between Sebastian and Belle and that is kudos to the entire cast and crew. Director Nicolas Vanier has taken a simple and cute story and turned it into something beautiful. Vanier comes from documentaries which probably helps with the absolutely gorgeous cinematography that is all happening behind and around these characters. Take a moment to just look at the stunning scenery and the way its used as a setting. Equally as haunting and beautiful is the musical score including a song that is simple and sweet and sung by Sebastian in the background of one or two scenes. It actually gave me goosebumps hearing it. Whether you're a fan of foreign films or not, grab your children, sit down and watch this/read it together if you have to. This is a beautiful story and an absolute gem that I won't soon forget. To me this was nearly an instant classic in my books and I intend on sharing it with my children. 9/10

A review of this film by a guy actually named Sébastien because her mother liked the 60's TV series so much, what a concept! So this film is based on a children's novel by Cécile Aubry telling the story of a friendship between a young boy called Sébastien and a big white dog named Belle living in a small French village in the mountains in 1943. Before watching the film, I was only familiar with the anime version of the 80's that I loved, so I cannot evaluate how faithful it is to the original novel. My impression and Wikipedia tell me that a few creative freedoms were taken. So, we hear about a "beast" in the mountains killing sheep. Sébastien lives with his grandfather César and spends most of his time outdoors. It's revealed quite soon that the "beast" in question is actually a big dog that was beaten up by his former master, fled and became wild. Not that wild since Sébastien discovers the dog and quickly befriends her in secret, although the dog is still hunted and in constant danger of being killed by the villagers. Sébastien eventually names her "Belle" because once cleaned up, she's so beautiful. Of course, there's also a play on the Beauty and the Beast theme, la Belle et la Bête, that Sébastien probably never read. Not initially related but eventually becoming important, is that France is occupied by the Germans, and there's a clandestine operation by the French passing Jew refugees over the mountains to reach another country. There are regular visits by the Germans in the nearby village and they want to stop this.So, I found the movie rather peaceful and relaxing with beautiful mountainous landscapes. Contrary to what another review says, there is a story and even a few mysteries such as what happened to Sébastien's mother, who's helping the Jews and the true motivations of a few characters. I loved Belle, she was expressive and she looked like I what I envisioned she should in real life. I didn't like the actor Sébastien so much. Yes, he's cute, but a few times, there was a little something off in the way he played. It didn't seem all natural for lack of better explanation. The relationship between him and Belle was mostly fine, but there was some chemistry missing. I sometimes felt some kind of "disconnect" between him and her. The other adult actors were adequate, except for the doctor that I found bland, and the German lieutenant that I found more interesting than the rest. In fact, I liked how ambiguously he was portrayed.The animal sequences didn't particularly impress me, as it sometimes felt as if they were filmed separately, although they were real animals. Scenes of danger, especially the last one, felt a bit awkwardly filmed. At one point, there was a song sung by Sébastien in the background that I found very corny, but it might be my cynical adult side complaining. The couple of other songs sung by an adult woman fared better, but I would have preferred just poignant music instead. I don't really remember the soundtrack otherwise. I wish I would have been moved emotionally by the film, but I wasn't really, although I found a few sequences charming. So maybe it's nostalgia for the old cartoon talking, but for me, this adaptation, although competent enough, seemed to lack a certain magic. I'd recommend it for big dog lovers. As an aside, my girlfriend, not familiar with the story, liked the film much better than I did.Rating: 6 out of 10 (good)