[Event Review] Popcorn Frights Film Festival: Belle (2022)

Max Gold’s Belle (2202) was showcased at Popcorn Frights Film Festival and it’s a beautiful addition to a genre festival. Belle tells the story of a man cursed to live as a beast, and a young woman who goes to live with him as part of a spell to save her sick father. If this sounds familiar, that’s because Belle is a creative and unique reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, a story that has taken many forms throughout its existence. 

Belle (Andrea Snædal) and The Beast (Ingi Hrafn Hilmarsson) are the central characters in the story, and they are both trapped by what they call “an unless.” The Beast is cursed unless he can fall in love, and have that person love him in return. Belle’s father will die unless she sacrifices herself by living with The Beast. But while The Beast seems resigned to his loss of humanity, Belle is determined that things can be changed and improved. Belle convinces The Beast to try a series of experiments to determine what triggers his change. He looks like a man, but when The Beast takes over, he growls and eats human flesh. Belle wants to know how to watch for that and potentially stop it. She’s a caring person, choosing this fate for herself to save her father, and trying to help The Beast at the same time. However, she sacrifices herself for others too much, and doesn’t leave much room for her own desires.

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The themes of the story are serious and relatable. Most of the characters are typing to meet the expectations of others, particularly family, and Belle is an exploration of what happens when you try to make everybody else happy. Often trying to meet everyone's expectations means you meet no one’s. It’s an existential story about what an individual’s life is worth and what should be sacrificed for another. However, it’s also darkly humorous, and there are several moments where an unexpected laugh sneaks in. 

The film takes place in the beautiful natural scenery of Iceland, and that alone makes for a gorgeous film. But folk horror also comes through in the visuals. When The Beast is in his attack mode and hiding, his movement and shadows have the makings of a monster movie. It’s clear that Belle and The Beast are isolated away from society, and realizing Belle is at the mercy of The Beast is an uneasy feeling. 

Belle takes a familiar story and makes it surprising. The setup of “a woman trapped with a man to save another man” could easily become trite and frosting, and Belle never feels that way. Instead, it’s engaging and thoughtful. It confronts what happens when you expect people to change for you, and what it means to love your own life. Viewers who enjoy folk horror and dark humor, or viewers who are interested in something more from the classic story, should seek out Belle.

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