La Famille Bélier is a 2014 French-Belgian drama, comedy and romance film directed by Éric Lartigau.
Uniquely for her family, Paula Bélier (Louane Emera) can hear. Her deaf family (Karin Viard, François Damiens, Luca Gelberg) communicates in Signed Language, and she is their interpreter. However, she gets distanced from the family the day that, for the sake of following a Love Interest, she joins the school choir and discovers that she is actually good at singing.
A smash hit in France upon its release, the film ended up getting an Academy Award winning U.S. remake, CODA.
This film provides examples of:
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The theme song for the Japanese release is "Seishun no Tsubasa"
by MACO. - Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Gigi and Rodolphe Bélier really embarrass their daughter when she brings home Gabriel, the classmate she loves secretly.
- The Cavalry: During Paula's singing concourse, Thomasson arriving just in time to play a song the local pianist doesn't know almost qualifies as a Deus ex Machina.
- Coming of Age Story: Paula Bélier experiences her first serious arguments with her parents, her first love... She has to make an important choice to start a musical career.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: When the family arrives in Paris.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Paula is a hard-working girl with dreams of her own and has light blonde hair.
- Happily Married: Gigi and Rodolphe Bélier
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: M. Thomasson despises and insults the students, but he will do everything he can to help Paula Bélier pass the singing contest.
- Mayor Pain: Lapidus despises deaf people and promotes industrial development, which harms the farmers. His bumbling, unpleasant, and dishonest actions repeatedly set Rodolphe off, to the point where he decides to run against the man, despite being unable to make campaign speeches.
- Meta Casting: Louane Emera as Paula Bélier, a normal girl who participates in a contest to become a professional singer.
- Moment Killer: A tryst between Paula's brother and best friend is put on urgent hold when it turns out her brother is allergic to latex condoms.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Paula Bélier has to attend the gynecological consultation of her parents.
- Shipper on Deck: Thomasson gives Paula and Gabriel a duet song with a dance for them to practice alone. The song is called "Je vais t'aimer", literally "I'm going to love you".
- Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy: Paula Bélier wants Gabriel.
- Talent Contest: Thomasson encourages Paula Bélier to participate in a singing contest organized by Radio France.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Gigi and Rodolphe Bélier.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The ending credits shows photos of the characters' situation after the movie. Rodolphe was elected as mayor, Thomasson married the Spanish teacher, Mathilde remains in love with Quentin, and Paula and Gabriel do the same.
- Whole-Plot Reference: A 1996 German film called Beyond Silence involved a young girl, the hearing child of deaf parents, who often has to act as their translator. The girl develops a talent for music (in this instance, she plays the clarinet) and her teachers encourage her talent, but this opens a distance between her and her family, especially when she has to go to the capital (in this case, Berlin) to go to music school. The hurt feelings are soothed when the girl's father shows up to see her big audition for the music school.
