Belle and Sebastian: Next Generation

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Belle and Sebastian: Next Generation
• a review of Belle and Sebastian: Next Generation completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 4 July 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

When Cecile (Caroline Anglade) goes to Prague for a work trip, her son Sebastian (Robinson Mensah-Rouanet) is reluctantly invited by his aunt Noemie (Alice David) and his grandmother Corinne (Michelle Laroque) to spend the summer with them on their farm, and to later help them herd sheep in the mountains. By chance, Sebastian has a run-in with Belle, a beautiful sheepdog abused by her owner Gas (Syrus Shahidi), who also happens to be Noemie’s boyfriend. Initially scared of Belle, Sebastian soon learns to put his fear aside and he helps her escape from Gas. Sebastian and Belle encounter each other again in the mountains and Belle proves herself invaluable on several occasions. They quickly develop a fast friendship and when Belle is once again discovered and captured by Gas, Sebastian will stop at nothing to protect the dog he has come to love, even if it means risking his own life in the process.

Family dysfunction; Animal abuse, Threats to animals and children; Corrupt business practices; Deceitful behaviour; Anger management issues.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• A bully roughs-up a random character.
• A child gets hit by a car.
• Belle runs away from Gas (who pursues her on a quadbike) and is terrified and whimpering when he finally catches up to her and forces her into a metal collar.
• Belle attacks Sebastian when he gets too close to the sheep.
• Gas kicks and hits Belle.
• Gas makes the motion of a gun with his fingers and shoots it in the direction of some local kids. He freaks them out when a can flies into the air after he does this.
• Belle kills a hedgehog by breaking its neck.
• Gas violently smashes his hands against the steering wheel in aggravation. He looks like he is coming unhinged.
• Gas threatens to kill Belle if Sebastian mentions the lake he has found.
• Wolves attack a flock of sheep, killing several of them. Their bloody bodies are shown lying on the ground and being loaded into a truck.
• Belle fights off a wolf. She is viciously bitten a few times but manages to run the pack off in the end.
• Gus pursues Belle with a hunting rifle, shooting at her repeatedly as Sebastian tries to get her to run.
• Sebastian uses a parachute to glide off the mountain towards Belle but gets pulled off course by strong winds and loses control. He crashes into a group of trees and lands unconscious on the ground.
• Belle runs at Gas and knocks him over a rocky ledge where he falls into a small pit. He is later shown to be bruised but otherwise unharmed.
• Gas shoots Belle while she is trying to bring help for Sebastian who is lying unconscious in a den full of wolves. Gas points the gun at Noemie before finally lowering the weapon when he appears to begin to understand the gravity of what he has done.

Material that may scare or disturb children

• Nothing further noted.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• Belle is locked in her cage while Sebastian secretly hides nearby. Gas comes in to feed her and then unexpectedly begins to violently attack her, kicking her roughly as hard as he can. The attack itself is not shown but you can hear each blow impact Belle’s body, accompanied by her painful whimpers and cries. Sebastian is absolutely horrified at what he witnesses and tries to set Belle free. She is later shown to have bloody injuries from the brutal attack. Though not explicitly shown, the attack is very much imaginable and could be quite distressing to many children.
• Sebastian and Belle are hiding in a cave when Gas finds them. He threatens to kill Belle if Sebastian mentions the cave and the lake to anyone. He promises that he won’t hesitate and later sends anonymous text messages to Sebastian telling him that he is coming for Belle and that she is about to die.
• Gas shoots at Belle and she initially escapes unharmed but the same cannot be said for Sebastian who, in his efforts to rescue Belle, has fallen unconscious from a parachute. As Belle races to bring help to the child, showing Corrine, Noemie and Cecile where he is hidden, Gas takes aim again and shoots Belle. The women are horrified as the injured animal lays whimpering on the ground. Gas keeps his gun trained on Belle and the women while Noemie tries to reason with him, telling him that Belle is their only hope for finding Sebastian. He eventually lowers the weapon and, bleeding and in pain, Belle continues the trek towards Sebastian. The scene is intense and harrowing and may be upsetting for some children.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• Instagram is mentioned.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• Gas tells a young girl, who is sunbathing in a bikini top, that she has beautiful eyes. It is not exactly sexual, but it is kind of creepy and the girl herself is very uneasy around him.
• Sebastian asks Corinne about why some of the sheep are different colours and she replies that is has to do with the sheep that have been mounted. Sebastian doesn’t understand so she vaguely explains about how the mounted sheep will have babies. Sebastian later helps her deliver one.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Sebastian is shown peeing outside one night after he couldn’t bring himself to urinate in a bottle. The stream of wee is shown more than anything else.
• A girl is shown in a bikini top and short shorts, sunbathing with a bunch of boys.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Gas smokes cigarettes.
• Gas offers cigarettes to a bunch of boys who accept them. He leaves the pack with them for good measure, promising that they will be rewarded if they help him find Belle.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Shit
• Crap
• Screw this
• Damn
• Hell
• Butt
• Suck
• Dummy.

In a nutshell

Belle and Sebastian: Next Generation is a heartfelt, French adventure with English subtitles. Loosely based on the book by Cecile Aubry, the story is filmed in the French Alps and features beautiful cinematography. While, at first glance, it would appear to be a children’s film, this one is better suited to tweens or more mature audiences.

The main messages from this movie are to always show kindness to others; that good deeds are eventually rewarded; and that, when the time comes, we can draw on stores of unimaginable courage and bravery if we look inside ourselves and are true to who we are.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Compassion
• Empathy
• Courage
• Kindness
• Loyalty.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Bullying others to get what you want.
• Deceiving your neighbours to make a profit.
• Hurting animals or threatening children and what can be done if these things happen.