Belleville belle et rebelle portrays six extraordinary residents of Belleville, the Parisian immigrant neighbourhood par excellence. The charming, idiosyncratic regulars of the Vieux Belleville carry the film in a manner similar to a French film choral: Joseph, the café owner and chronicler; Minelle, a singer and accordion player with infectious energy; Robert Bober, once Truffaut’s assistant director and now a writer, photographer and filmmaker; Riton la Manivelle, a chanson singer and barrel organ player; Steven, a Scottish mural painter; and Lucio Urtubia, a Basque bricklayer and anarchist wanted by Interpol for forgery, who now runs the cultural centre Espace Louise Michel.
Le Vieux Belleville is an authentic throwback in time, outmoded and outdated. Deeply rooted in the French soul, its culture attracts curious people from all over the world – to sing songs by Fréhel, Piaf and Gainsbourg, to dance and to live the eternally modern idea of brotherhood. The chansons sung here are a distillation of life itself, an essence – they speak of revolutions, revolts, world wars, May 1968, love and passion.
Belleville belle et rebelle tells of a hidden France, illuminating a deep solidarity within this society. A film about civil courage, culture and political interference – belle et rebelle.