Bill Condon
La bella e la bestia

THE REVIEW

In a small village in 18th-century France, there lives an arrogant and boastful prince. One day, an old woman appears before him asking for shelter during a stormy night. The prince refuses her, and the old woman, who is actually a witch, transforms him into a horrendous beast as punishment, until he finds within himself the ability to truly love someone.

Meanwhile, in the village, the father of a young woman named Belle decides to go to the market and, along the way, stops to pick a rose for his daughter. Unfortunately, the rose is in the garden of the aforementioned prince, who, as punishment, imprisons him. Belle then goes in search of her father and, after finding him, gets herself imprisoned in his place. Thus begins her coexistence in the castle with the Beast, who tries to make Belle fall in love with him.

However, it is only when Belle decides to escape to help her father in danger that the Beast will understand he loves her and goes to save her from the wolves she had encountered in the meantime.

Then, other things happen that I won't spoil...

The director, however, in this live-action reinterpretation, focuses everything on the darkness of the setting: indeed, the darkness of the beast's soul corresponds to the darkness of his castle and the eternal night he is immersed in. Only with the awakening of romantic feelings within the protagonist does light finally peek through the scenarios.

A fairy tale that is always useful to "dust off," to always keep in mind that appearances deceive and that, often, those who appear grumpy and "ugly" may actually harbor softer and more honest feelings than those who appear smiling and cordial, but are then ready to stab you...