Cinema Saturday (Purposely & Purposefully on Wednesday) {@FoxHomeEnt @AmmaAsante]

My Cinema Saturday posts about movies usually get posted on, well, Saturdays. For this one, though, I wanted to post it during the week when more people might see it.

Belle
20th Century Fox
August 26, 2014
Rated PG; 104 minutes
starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Matthew Goode
IMDb /Blu-Ray on Amazon

Belle is a movie I was interested in seeing back when it was in theatres, but it never came within an hour of me. So, I was super excited to be able to watch it recently.

About the film: 

The mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England. (from IMDb)

and the trailer:



 Based on a true story, Belle is the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a biracial young woman in 18th century England. It is a story I was wholly unfamiliar with prior to the film. I wished to see it both for the appeal of the story and how beautiful the filming seemed to be. Now that I have seen it, I'm at least a little bit on love with Belle. It was even better than I had hoped. A cast of great actors - Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Felton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, as Belle - gorgeous filing and costumes, and such a compelling story, come together to make a great movie. After seeing it, I did look into the 'real' story a bit more. While, Belle does romanticize some parts of Dido's story and some events are moved around, the heart of her story is unchanged. It is a fantastic story of perseverance, self discovery, and overcoming the odds. It's also a love story and a look at a point in history you may not know much about or see portrayed very often. The writing does a very nice job not only giving us Belle's life but a great glimpse into the time and characters.
Belle tells a remarkable story, of Dido Elizabeth Belle and the period in Britain, and does so beautifully. This is a movie I am so happy to been able to see and one I know I want to see again.  
Fans of Bright Star, Amazing Grace and/or historical based-on-a-true-story dramas or romances should absolutely watch Belle.


Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice by Paula Byrne was published to coincide with the film's US release. and tells the true story. (The synopsis does give away some things that you may not want to know are coming if watching the movie first.)



There is a ten minute extended preview available on Amazon.







digital copy of Belle watched thanks to ThinkJam and Fox for honest review