Belle: C'est Si Bon

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is Belle 

It's a romance. It's a British costume drama. It's a slice of history.
And it's the confluence of these genres that made the Movie Slut's friend Deanne call Belle the "best movie I ever saw."

Like the young woman at the center of the story, Belle is both smart and beautiful.

Belle's father was an officer and a gentlemen in late 18th-century England and her mother, whom he loved but never married, was a woman of color. When she died, he took the child to live with his aristocratic uncle and his family.

 The plot, which is based on a true story,  plays out at a time when societal rules were harsh and rigid. But the question of where Belle fits in is not the only concern in this thoughtful, moving flick. It goes a lot deeper than that.

It nothing else, this film is worth seeing for the sets and costumes.