While Disney currently has plans to reimagine their own “Beauty And The Beast,” it’s probably safe to say that Christophe Gans — the guy behind “Brotherhood Of The Wolf” and “Silent Hill” — will have a more interesting take. Now in post-production, Pathé International took to the movie market at the recently wrapped Cannes Film Festival and brought with them a first look that positively glows with romance, or cannibalism.
It has Vincent Cassel looking as though he wants to eat your face off, or maybe kiss it. Or maybe both. Lea Seydoux is the Beauty (duh) in a movie that Gans hopes will have some contemporary resonance when it’s all done and dusted. Here’s the director’s statement:
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the adaptation of a story by Madame de Villeneuve. Published anonymously in 1740 as La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins, it paints a portrait of Belle, a joyful and touching young girl who falls in love with the Beast, a cursed creature in search of love and redemption. In 1760, a condensed children’s version was published. It was from this version that Jean Cocteau and then Walt Disney drew their famous adaptations. Overshadowed, the original version by Madame de Villeneuve has never been adapted for the screen… until now!
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the story of a family going through a crisis, having lost all of its possessions when the father was ruined. The encounter – at first terrifying, but then voluptuous – with this mythical Beast provides our characters with an opportunity to get back on their feet. I like to think that this film is a metaphor for the situation that is currently afflicting the world. That is one of the advantages of fairy tales, to present an ensemble of values that endure through the ages.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST speaks, among other things, of the power of dreams and love over materialism and corruption – a theme more topical now than ever. It was time to pay tribute to Madame de Villeneuve’s story: an amazingly contemporary tale, in which the poem of love is also a message of hope.
Christophe Gans
With Alexandre Desplat providing the score, and Seydoux promising “It’s going to be a classic!” we’re eager to see how it turns out, perhaps in time for the fall festival circuit? Take in the full image below.
