The Looking Glass - A Belle (2021) Review
The newest Mamoru Hosoda directed film once again explores virtual worlds - as well as the people behind the screen.
The newest animated film directed by Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children), Belle (2021) makes it’s way to US theaters through GKIDS, nearly a year after its Japanese release. The story follows high schooler Suzu’s (Kaho Nakamura) withdrawn life in a near future Japan and her alter ego as the titular pop star in the virtual world of “U.”
A loose adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, Suzu ends up tangled with the Dragon (Takeru Satoh), U’s lycanthropic most wanted. In the real world, the parallels are less apparent— barring Suzu grappling with the grief of her mother’s death. Even with that dark subject matter, there’s a certain whimsy even to the real world segments, as the film has a strong sense of humor and relationship turmoil that’s endearing rather than melodramatic.
Those lighter aspects create a contrast with the more serious topics Belle broaches, in turn strengthening the film’s exploration of grief and isolation.
Those themes and the related storylines give Belle some much needed grounding. with all the focus on U. The virtual world echoes a lot of the chatter about the Metaverse, which is dominating headlines as well as many people’s fears for the future. Admittedly Belle seems more concerned with the internet as it exists now, rather than whatever Mark Zuckerberg is trying to push. The film’s antagonists, a band of superhero-like, corporate sponsored vigilantes looking to squash anyone that “doesn’t belong,” also sends a clear message in that regard.
Little time is spent on U’s origins or even mechanics. There’s no VR goggles, deprivation chambers, or Tron-esque digitization guns necessary to enter this virtual world, just discreet airpod like devices.
It’s ironically the most fairy tale like aspect of the film: U works simply because it needs to, like magic. I don’t think that particularly matters, since Belle is one of the better entries in the genre and uses the liberties taken to tell a more complete story. While there’s a consistent set of rules that feature heavily, Belle almost exclusively uses its setting to look at how we collectively interact online.
It’s a somewhat utopian vision of the internet, as it proposes that anonymous cruelty can be offset by the sense of community and self-discovery on offer.
Uncontrolled social media platforms have done serious damage to our “meatspace” lives on a massive scale, the consequences of which Belle doesn’t fully grapple with. Maybe that’s a subject for a very different film though and definitely not an optimistic coming of age tale.
Regardless of whether Belle captures the full complexity of online interactions, it’s the rare piece of “virtual world” media that isn’t mired in vacuous video game and pop culture references, with Ready Player One being the main offender. The central theme is a genre staple but properly conveyed this time through meaningful characters and story beats: even a virtual paradise is worthless if you have nothing to come back to in real life.
Escaping from life’s problems is a core pillar of Belle’s narrative. Suzu isn’t the only one running to U away from her problems and the story takes a broad perspective by tapping into Japan’s demographic issues. Soon to be closed train lines and shuttered elementary schools help convey that the future doesn’t need to be a cyberpunk dystopia for people to start looking to other, more artificial horizons.
Belle’s visuals are split between 3D and 2D animation, both equally well executed. The noticeable difference between the two is put to good use, with the CG exclusively used for U segments.
In doing so, Belle sidesteps one of the bigger issues with CG in animated productions— the noticeable gap between 2D and 3D. Using 3D animation for virtual world segments is hardly new but few pieces of media capture anything close to Belle’s dreamscapes. The CG sections are an appropriate mix of the “digital” imagery you’d expect, cartoonish elements and fantastic visions.
Back in (relative) reality, the mix of mundane situations and exaggerated body language that characterizes much of Hosoda’s previous work remains strong. It’d risk feeling overbearing if the animation wasn’t excellent or there wasn’t such a strong emotional core to support it.
The musical segments live up to the weight they’re given in story and Belle benefits from Kaho Nakamura doing the vocals as well as Suzu’s regular dialogue. Beyond that she gives a great performance, offering a believable, emotive performance that meshes well with the grounded, fantastic, and comedic moments Belle bounces between. The rest of the voice cast does well too, but Nakamura is still the standout performance.
Visually gorgeous, emotionally resonant, and well put together, Belle is one of Hosoda’s stronger projects. Stories with a positive perspective on social media and the internet grow rarer, despite or more likely because they loom larger in our own lives. As naive as some of the messages feel to me, it’s interesting to see Belle offer a well-constructed, positive take on the whole affair.