At Forum, you can already see the well-known Disney tale “Beauty and the Beast”, made using 3D technology. From 2 March, we will be able to see Małgośka Szumowska’s film “Elles”, portraying the lives of contemporary female students who prostitute themselves to finance their education and lead luxurious lives.
The two stories, one fairy-tale and the other describing a contemporary social phenomenon, take place in France. Both feature similar heroines – young, beautiful and intelligent. Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” is a girl in love with books. Alicja and Charlotte from “Elles” are students at French universities. In both stories, a wealthy beast lives in a palace full of luxury, servants, marble and gilding...
The folk tale clearly shows that the greatest values in life are a good heart, wisdom, a sense of dignity and not judging people by appearances. “True beauty lies deep within,” the fairy tells the selfish and evil prince in the tale when she turns him into a monster so that he can learn to be human.
Belle, like the students Alicja and Charlotte, dreams of a different life. Unusual, full of adventures, rich... The entire village mocks and criticizes the girl for her system of values, so strange to the villagers. To make matters worse, she is an avid reader rather than being in love with the handsome village macho Gaston. When the boor takes Belle’s book, he observes in surprise that it contains no pictures. Belle mocks him by replying: “Some people use their imagination.”
The conceited Gaston, with his vile character, is a beast disguised as a handsome man. And when Belle meets the beast-prince, she will be able to tell them apart. So why have the students from “Elles”, also called university girls — a combination of “university” and “prostitute” — not acquired this ability to distinguish falsehood from truth? Such exceptional and intelligent girls?
Perhaps it is about the reasons why women decide to stay with a beast. When Belle makes such a decision, she does so to save her father, not for the splendour of the palace. Not for herself, but for someone she loves. Therefore, when the Beast treats her as his property, the girl behaves like a guest. She respects herself and earns the Beast’s respect. It is from her that the monster learns to be human.
The enchanted prince also allows Belle to leave when she worries about her elderly father. The prince gives up something he desires more than life itself – his own transformation. And, through love, he begins to care more about another person’s well-being than his own.
The men who sponsor beautiful students will never understand this lesson of giving up their own whims. And they will remain forever beasts enchanted into handsome, wealthy patrons. There is no point feeling sorry for the contemporary Belles living with them. They made their own choice. Was it difficult? It is best to ponder this while parking your several-year-old car next to a colleague’s one-year-old vehicle. The prettier colleague’s...
Tickets for both films can be reserved on the Forum cinema website.
(Grażyna Hanaf )