← Back to Cinema Atlas
Discover great cinema and the connections that made it possible.
La Belle et la Bête
FRANCE · 1946

La Belle et la Bête

Jean Cocteau
transformation true love sacrifice inner beauty enchantment
Watch on MUBI → Stream on Criterion → ▶ Trailer

Synopsis

The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. She is unable to return the key on time, but it is revealed that the Beast is the genuinely handsome one. A simple tale of t

This Film Influenced

→ Beauty and the Beast (2017)

More from Jean Cocteau

France
Orpheus
1950 • France
View →
Les Parents terribles (Josée Dayan, ) made for television, based on Cocteau play
2003 • France
View →
Les Parents terribles (Jean-Claude Brialy, ) made for television, based on Cocteau play
2000 • France
View →