BELLE ET SEBASTIEN (1965)
Many Britons in the 55 to 65 age group will remember watching this series on their ropy old black and white television set way back in the late 60s. The opening sequence and music (by Daniel White) will bring it all back instantly. Created by French actress and author Cecile Aubry and starring her own son Mehdi, it told the story of a young orphan boy and his dog Belle (a male Pyrenean Shepherd - 'Flanker') as they tackle smugglers and pooch hostile locals in a spectacular snowy alpine setting. A young faced Cecile Aubry appears at the start of each episode to deliver an introduction and this format is continued on into series two and three also. My older sister described the mood of this series as quite melancholic and I partly agree with that. Young Mehdi turned out to be quite confident in front of the camera, as i suppose he should be with an actress mother for guidance. He had already performed in Aubry's earlier work 'The Adventures of Poly' in 1961. This opening series of the trilogy is easily obtainable on DVD with both French and English audio versions on the disc. Recent photographs show that Cesar's mountainside house and the refuge hut where Sebastien was born are both still standing. It could make an interesting day out for those on holiday in France (Belvedere /Gordolasque valley).
SEBASTIEN PARMI LES HOMMES (1967)
The follow up series 'Sebastien Among Men' was filmed in colour. Sebastien goes to live with his recently discovered real father (Claude Giraud) who is successfully involved in the horse racing world as a trainer. Series one revolved around Sebastien's relationship with his beloved dog Belle and Surrogate grandfather Cesar (Edmund Beauchamp). Here he builds bridges with his father Pierre Marechal and learns more of his mother and family. The sudden appearance of the boy, however becomes a source of friction between Pierre and his entended wife to be, Sylvia (Louise Merleau). Characters Cesar, Celestine (Helene Dieudonne) and Belle the dog are carried over from series one but play reduced roles. Mehdi himself was brought up around animals and gets to demonstrate his riding skills. The storyline is more mature than series one as Sebastien is now old enough to engage with the adult characters. This makes it worth watching for adults who have only seen series one. A memorable theme tune accompanies the series. Look on the internet for the Rene Simard version of L'Oiseau.
SEBASTIEN ET LA MARY MORGANE (1970)
This final story begins 3 months after the death of Belle. Twelve years old Sebastien is sent for a holiday stay on the Brittany coast with his mysterious and rather reclusive uncle Louis Marechal (Charles Vanel) of whom even his father knows little. Elderly Uncle Louis runs a fishing enterprise and owns several ships in a partnership operation. Initially Sebastien and his uncle get on well, however the friendship becomes strained as the boy slowly uncovers a local feud that stretches back to world war two. An emergency at sea onboard fishing boat Narval soon brings these lingering animosities to the surface once more. Like all children of that age Sebastien sees the world in absolute terms and struggles to recognise the nuances of adult motivations and actions. To add to his confusion the poor little chap gets a crush on the best looking girl in town, who unfortunately happens to be ten years too old for him (Yutta d'Arcy). We all remember that happening don't we? It's tough being a kid! All in all it's a thoughtful storyline that requires some effort from it's young teenage target audience. As a small side note, i am reasonably convinced that Sebastien's English Setter pal was in fact Mehdi's own pet dog in real life.
Both series two and three DVDs can be obtained online from Europe. They are French audio only. Thankfully, good English subtitle sets can be downloaded for free if you search for them. For the technical dinosaurs out there, your best option is to get the brainy grandchild of the family to link the subtitles to the pictures for you. Give them a bag of liquorice allsorts for their efforts and then everyone is happy!
