I decided yesterday that I would try to watch one movie a day during February. I’m far more than 28 films behind in watching even the good stuff that came out in 2010, much less the best films since June 2004 (to choose a meaningful date: when Julia arrived). I figure that even if I only watch one flick every other day, I’ll be able to see a lot of good stuff. I’m lucky, too, to be able to get DVDs easily (and free!) from Carleton’s extensive collection.
Choosing more or less at random today, I picked The Triplets of Belleville, the acclaimed 2003 animated movie about the kidnapping of a bike racer. (trailer) Triplets was great, start to finish: the visuals are astounding, the music is great, and the story is entertaining. I think I only stopped smiling once – during the frog-feast scene.
I highly recommend the movie to anyone, but I especially liked the film’s bike-racing angle, which seems like a fairly brutal critique on pro cycling, complete with doping (avec vin), racing to the point of collapse, and nefarious conspiracies controlling the competition. Not that any of that is any more central than it needs to be in order to advance the plot. Watch it and see!