Colette
Writing
Biography
Colette's fame extends to being probably the only female writer known by her mononym—She is always and only Colette, though in fact this most feminine of names was her surname: She was born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette on 28 January 1873 in the French village of Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye. Her work—mostly at novella length, short and sharp—survives because her chief subject is one that never goes out of fashion. "Love, the bread and butter of my pen," she wrote, though she put it more bluntly in her book The Pure and the Impure (1932): "The flesh, always the flesh, the mysteries and betrayals and frustrations and surprises of the flesh." The story of Colette and her work is one of the most astonishing in modern literature. She was a pioneer of the French school of autofiction (autobiographical fiction), writing about women's lives in ways that broke new ground. Her books were simultaneously popular and acclaimed—read by critics and the public alike—not to mention scandalous. And she made of her life a project just as fascinating and subversive as her books. Among Colette's best known works are the "Claudine" novels, "La naissance du jour," "Gigi," "Chéri," "The Tendrils of the Vine,"... She was also a mime, actress, journalist and a woman of letters. Colette was the first woman to be elected to the Académie Goncourt and the Belgian Royal Academy, both indicia of respect for her writing.
Known For
A home, a motorcar, servants, the latest fashions: the most eligible and most finicky bachelor in Paris offers them all to Gigi. But she, who's gone from girlish gawkishness to cultured glamour before our eyes, yearns for that wonderful something money can't buy.
Gigi
A coming-of-age miniseries based on the well-known "Claudine" stories by the French bisexual actor and author Sidonie Gabrielle Colette.
Claudine
The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
Chéri
Married for eight years with no children, Brits Katherine and Alex Joyce are driving to Italy, their ultimate destination just outside of Naples to sell the villa they have just inherited from his uncle, the villa where they will be staying during their time there. On the drive, they come to the realization that this trip marks the first time that they have truly been alone together, and as such don't really know one another in the true sense.
Journey to Italy
Gilberte is a sixteen year old girl raised by her aunt and grandmother to be a demimondaine. But she's not ready for that yet, and spends her days in lessons and in teasing Mamita's old friend, the rich playboy Gaston LaChaille, and following his affairs from afar. But when Gaston throws off his latest mistress, it looks as if Gigi just might be ready to begin her destined career.
Gigi
Minne is a very imaginative young lady. She pretends to have had lovers and can't think of anything better to do other than... to tell Antoine, her husband, the day she marries him. Bad beginning for the couple... As the marriage is not consummated for years, Minne feels frustrated and tries to find elsewhere the carnal knowledge she does not find at home. But Antoine is a kind-hearted man and on the occasion of a trip, a sexual balance is at last found between the two partners.
Minne
A compilation of segments covers the seven deadly sins of greed, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth, and gluttony.
The Seven Deadly Sins
No description available.
Julie de Carneilhan
Nicole Védrès' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.
Paris 1900
A country girl finds work as a chorus girl in Paris, gets embroiled with a bad egg, and then finds true love with a good-looking milkman.
Divine
Fred Peloux, nicknamed Chéri, the handsome son of Charlotte Peloux, a former demimondaine, lives in the small circle of his mother's friends, all high-class prostitutes past their best. He has an affair with Léa, a waning beauty, who loves him both as a mistress and a mother. But the age difference takes its toll on their union. To please his mother, Chéri accepts to marry young Edmée without actually caring for her. After a while, the young man tries to return to Léa...
Chéri
During the First World War, the Empyrée Montmartre, a Paris music-hall, is dedicated to patriotic revues whose star is the charming Mitsou. The young artist is not without talent but she is mainly well-connected. She is indeed the cherished mistress of Pierre Duroy-Lelong, a rich industrialist. One night, thanks to Petite-Chose, an ebullient singer-dancer and her co-star, she gets to know a handsome army, Lieutenant Bleu. Mitsou falls madly in love with him and Lieutenant Bleu is physically attracted to her. The trouble is that Bleu comes from a distinguished family and cannot put up with her lack of culture and artistic bad taste...
Mitsou
A handsome but penniless young man takes a summer job as a swimming instructor in a picturesque Alpine lake resort. He falls in love with a young heiress who is staying there with her father, but he also grabs the attention of tomboyish Puck who lives on the other side of the lake and who saves him from drowning one foggy night. Further havoc is caused by the arrival of Eric's old sweetheart whose husband is wanted by the police.
Ladies Lake
Women (many of them lesbian) artists, writers, photographers, designers, and adventurers settled in Paris between the wars. They embraced France, some developed an ex-pat culture, and most cherished a way of life quite different than the one left behind.
Paris Was a Woman
Friends since infancy, two youngsters struggle as their platonic bond blossoms into romantic love with adolescence.
The Game of Love
Based on French writer Colette's 1923 novel, Le Blé en herbe focuses on the changing relationship between childhood friends Vinca and Phillipe. Both are on the verge of adulthood and beginning to recognize romantic feelings for one another when Phillipe meets a lascivious, wealthy older woman named Madam Dellaray. He is torn between his innocent but restricting affection for Vinca and satisfaction of his impatient lust for the new and mature world Madam Dellaray offers.
The Ripening Seed
Poorly educated by her father, a wacky researcher, Claudine is a teenager full of life who loves her small village school run by Miss Sergeant. A new teacher, Aimée Lanthenay, arrives at the school. Seemingly awkward, she is actually an arrivist who manages to get the departure of Miss Sergeant.
Claudine at School
Paris, 1900. The 16-year-old Gigi lives in a world of mere women, inspired by Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary, she doesn't want to surrender to the "bondage of a loveless marriage".
Mademoiselle Gigi
A writer in her fifties spends the summer in her Saint-Tropez home, tending to her garden and animals while reflecting on her past. As nature thrives around her, a handsome young man and a restless woman draw near, bringing the uncertainties of desire and romance. Adapted from Colette's quasi-autobiographical novel.
Break of Day
No description available.