Gigi

Starring: Gaby Morlay, Daniele Delorme, Jean Tissier, Frank Villard
Directed by: Jacqueline Audry
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Comedy
1949

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Gigi (Daniele Delorme) is training to be a courtesan, but when her family friend (Franck Villard) falls for her, things become complicated.

Review:

Tim: I watched this film, the original Gigi, after I'd already seen the more famous 1958 version (which won the Academy Award for Best Picture). I was intrigued to see this because it's the original film adaptation of Colette's 1944 novel, and it's a French film, filmed in the language in which the book was originally written. Plus, without being a musical like it's more famous American remake, I figured it would be a more stripped-down and faithful adaptation. In some ways, I believe this movie may be superior to the more famous one, but ultimately, each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The biggest issue I want to bring up is the deplorable state of the condition of the film. I know that it's incredibly fortunate that a copy has even survived, but it definitely makes the film a bit difficult to watch. The biggest issue I had is with the subtitles- they are completely white (without even black outlining), which means that they are oftentimes unreadable. There's a scene early on where the subtitles disappear completely into a white tablecloth. It's incredibly frustrating to try and follow the dialogue when over half a line is completely missing. I was lucky enough to be watching the movie on DVD and was able to turn the English subtitles on to alleviate the problem, but this would be a major issue otherwise.

I was surprised how close the 1958 version followed this one, included some nearly identical scenes and dialogue. It was fun to see the differences between the two films as well, and this one is obviously shorter without the musical numbers. There's still quite a lot of overlap, though.

I thought Gigi was a fairly decent movie. I really don't love the story, as it just doesn't hit me on any kind of emotional level. The cast is fine, but no one here gives a really stunning or memorable performance. Perhaps this story is more impactful if you're French, but from my American eyes, it all just felt a bit flat to me. It's not that I wasn't interested, I simply wasn't able to identify with the characters in any kind of meaningful way.

Gigi is a decent movie. It's too bad that time has ravished this film so much. Even with the poor quality of the print, this film is worth seeing. Just don't go in expecting too much, so you won't be disappointed.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gigi (1958)