Films

Beauty and the Beast

Film Info

France 2014 Director: Christophe Gans

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Beauty and the Beast

Synopsis

1810. After the wreck of his ships, a financially-ruined merchant exiles himself in the countryside with his six children. Among them is Beauty, his youngest daughter, a joyful girl full of grace. One day, during an arduous journey, the merchant stumbles across the magical domain of the Beast, who sentences him to death for stealing a rose. Feeling responsible for the terrible fate which has befallen her family, Beauty decides to sacrifice herself and take her father’s place. At the Beast’s castle, it is not death that awaits Beauty, but a strange life in which fantastical moments mingle with gaiety and melancholy. Every night, at dinner, Beauty and the Beast sit down together. They learn about each other, taming one another like two strangers who are total opposites. When she has to repulse his amorous advances, Beauty tries to pierce the mysteries of the Beast and his domain. And when night falls, the Beast’s past is revealed to her bit by bit in her dreams. It is a tragic story, which tells her that this solitary and fearsome being was once a majestic prince. Armed with her courage, ignoring every danger, and opening her heart, Beauty manages to release the Beast from his curse. And in doing so, she discovers true love.

Cast & Crew

Director

Christophe Gans
Producer

Richard Grandpierre
Screenwriter

Sandra Vo-Anh, Christophe Gans
Director of photography

Christophe Beaucarne
Main Cast

Andre Dussolier, Léa Seydoux, Vincent Cassel
Editor (Cut)

Sébastien Prangère
Original Score

Pierre Adenot
Production Design

Jerôme Seydoux
Costume Design

Pierre-Yves Gayraud

Director's comment

I’d say that I wasn’t looking to do a remake of the Cocteau version, but rather a new adaptation of the fairytale. When I pitched BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Jérôme Seydoux blurted out: “Do you realize what you’re getting yourself into?
They’ll never let you forget Cocteau…” To which I answered: “Of course there’ll always be people to say that Cocteau was better!”’ (Laughter).
There are French films for which a remake is unthinkable. CHILDREN OF PARADISE, for example, is a closed, finished, completed work. On the contrary, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is rife with innuendo, blank spaces, areas that Cocteau deliberately left out. When I was studying the Madame de Villeneuve fairytale, I made a note every time I found an aspect Cocteau had left untapped.
The Merchant barely interest him at all: he is only used to introduce the Beast. Likewise, the personality of the two sisters and the origins of the Prince’s curse are of little interest to him. There is only one line in the entire film to explain the curse: (“My parents didn’t believe in fairies, and they were punished for it.”) Cocteau leaves many doors open, and I went through them with my version.