Belle and Sebastian

"Two great friends. One grand adventure."

2013 1h 44m FR

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 688

Adventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Belle and Sebastian is set high in the snowy Alps during the Second World War. The resourceful Sebastian is a lonely boy who tames and befriends a giant, wild mountain dog, Belle – even though the villagers believe her to be ‘the beast’ that has been killing their sheep.

“Two great friends. One grand adventure.”

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Cast

Félix Bossuet
Sébastien
Tchéky Karyo
César
Dimitri Storoge
Guillaume Cimaz
Mehdi El Glaoui
André
Andreas Pietschmann
Lieutenant Peter
Urbain Cancelier
Mayor
Margaux Chatelier
Angélina
Paloma Palma
Esther

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nicolas Vanier
Writers: Nicolas Vanier, Fabien Suarez, Juliette Sales
Languages: German, French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Belle & Sebastian Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nicolas Vanier, shot by Éric Guichard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Vladi Slav. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stéphanie Pedelacq shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Félix Bossuet and Tchéky Karyo and Dimitri Storoge carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nicolas Vanier directs. Éric Guichard behind the camera. Vladi Slav scores. Stéphanie Pedelacq cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France. Dialogue in German, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, French.
4Part of the "Belle & Sebastian Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Nicolas Vanier, shot by Éric Guichard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Vladi Slav. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Stéphanie Pedelacq shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Félix Bossuet and Tchéky Karyo and Dimitri Storoge carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Two great friends. One grand adventure.".
10IMDB entry: tt3146360 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Éric Guichard
Original score: Vladi Slav
Editing: Stéphanie Pedelacq
Production design: Sébastian Birchler
Costume design: Adélaïde Gosselin
Makeup / hair: Michèle Constantinides
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Status: Released
Budget: $11,300,000
Box office: $35,825,575
Return: 317% of budget
Original language: FR
IMDB: Belle and Sebastian (2013)

Awards

NYICFF Grand Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Belle & Sebastian Collection

The Belle and Sebastian franchise refers to the popular series of stories about a boy named Sébastien and his large, intelligent dog, Belle, which originated as a French television series in 1965 and has since expanded into novels, animated and live-action films, and a Scottish indie pop band that takes its name from the story. The franchise encompasses multiple adaptations across different media, including live-action films in France and animated series in Japan and Canada, all centered on the adventures of the boy and his dog.

Also by

Nicolas Vanier

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2017-03-16
★ 7/10
They found each other, a tale of a new friendship. A year ago I saw and reviewed 'Heidi'. This is just like a boy version of that film. The Alps, goats, grandfather, like that each other can be compared. This one came even before that, but I saw it only now. Whenever I see a film this late, I comfort myself saying 'better late than never'. There's already a sequel was made and I'm sure I'll be watching it very soon. By the way the film was based on half a century old children's novel and directed by who is famous for his dog films and documentaries. This is the tale of a young boy named Sébatien who lives with his grandfather in the French Alps valley. It was during the 40s and the people are devastated by the presence of nazi force. The town has not yet shown any resistance to that. But there was a little compassion for the small Jewish community living among them and they're helping them to get away safely to the other side of the mountain. On the other hand, the boy befriends with a feral dog and names her Belle, who was responsible for the deaths of goats. Their bond becomes stronger and all his effort is to protect Belle from village people. But one day during the Christmas season, the opportunity knocks to prove their worth, particularly Belle's. That's when the narration reaches the highest point with some adventures in the snowy Alps. ❝It is nicer than 'dirty beast', huh?❞ The first thing about this tale is where it takes place. The locations were the backbone of the storytelling. They used it perfectly, not just as the background, but for the story itself. Then comes the two important characters, Belle and Sébatien. It's like another dog film, but Belle too had parts to show her capable like in the stunt section. Sébatien was a cute little kid and in his first film, he was excellent. Honestly, I expected more from them, together, to develop their connection even further. The disappointments were the edgy (adventure) portions which were not that thrill. Like the filmmakers preferred safe mode than being more realistic. Like they were aiming for G rating, not even for a PG. On that aspect, it looks a lot like a television film. This view is from me as an adult, but the others' might vary. Despite its sets in the time of the WWII, there's no violences in the film. That sub-plot was part of the story to complicate and improvise the film. Apart from that, this is a pure children's and family film. But I expected a little more tight plot and developed characters in the rest of the film, excluding visually impressiveness. This film was too simple, especially if you had seen 'Heidi', 'Brothers of the Wind', 'The Fox & the Child' and a few others. Otherwise, it will one of the best films you are going to see and enjoyable for many other reasons. I can tell, it was incomplete and then I came to know about its follow-up. I don't think that was preplanned, but the idea seems not bad. I hope that film will be even better than this. I can't wait to watch another adventure by Belle and Sébatien. This is a good watch, especially if you are a children's film fan, but it is a must see for the little ones. Films like this will shape up their childhood memories. I have lots of such sweet memories, so just show it to them and watching with them will even better to share the same memories. 7/10

Production companies