In this animated French film, a boy named Champion trains relentlessly for the Tour de France, with the help of his loyal grandmother and overweight dog, Bruno (who loves to bark at passing trains). When the big race comes, Champion and a few of his fellow racers are kidnapped by some thugs who spirit them off to Belleville (a .. Read more
| Director | Sylvain Chomet |
|---|---|
| Genres | Animated, Family, World Cinema |
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In this animated French film, a boy named Champion trains relentlessly for the Tour de France, with the help of his loyal grandmother and overweight dog, Bruno (who loves to bark at passing trains). When the big race comes, Champion and a few of his fellow racers are kidnapped by some thugs who spirit them off to Belleville (a surreal impression of 1930s-1950s Manhattan) where they are forced to pedal as part of a clandestine gambling operation. Bruno and grandma set out across the sea in a paddle boat to rescue their boy, but once ashore they soon become lost, hungry and penniless, that is until the frog-eating Triplets of Belleville, former scat singing jazz prodigies turned experimental musicians, come to their rescue.
Filled with inspired, twisted imagery, this nearly dialogue-free film is a crowd-pleaser of unusual power, with the strange, measured pacing of a dream, and a great soundtrack of bizarre alternate-reality '30s jazz. It also offers a touching and believable evocation of a dog's life. A great throwback to the time before animation became dominated by CGI effects, BELLEVILLE RENDEZ-VOUS is a very strange, very loving French salute to obsession, affection, and persistence.
| Director | Sylvain Chomet |
|---|---|
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 18 mins |
| Certificate |  |
| Collections | FILMCLUB Recommends... |
| Genres | Animated, Family, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: French |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 2003 To Rent: DVD: not available |
The new century is shaping up to be a fine time for world animation, not least for child's eye features packed with... read more on Time Out
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You'll never have seen anything like this before.
A stunning and unique film that combines both hand drawn and CGI animation to perfection. At no point in this film does the animation look 'rough' or &#... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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Beautifully drawn, well observed characters
Possibly an acquired taste(?) but if you like animations & hand-drawn artwork I'd challenge you not to love this.
At first it weems a little ... read more »
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A real gem!
Loved this film, watched it 3 times when I rented it. Didn't want it to end. The Illusionist was good but this was even better. Highly recommend it. There ... read more »
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Superb - just watch it!
This is one of the most wonderful animations I've seen in years, you can see the craft and the love of the people who made it in every moment. Give ... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
Stacks of great stuff to schedule in for February viewing, and a fair bit of it comes with Oscar nominations attached. Here's your guide to the very best films at the cinema, on DVD, and to watch instantly this month... The Top 20 The Town Released: To Watch Online from February 1 Gone Baby Gone was a fine directorial debut, so Ben Affleck is confident enough here to do double duty behind and in front of the camera in this gritty, Boston-set crime drama. He’s a professional thief who... Read more
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