Colette's rather original tale of the education of a teen age girl to become a courtesan or mistress of a rich patron by her grandmother and great aunt, thus carrying out a family tradition, is starkly told with a noticeable lack of emotion. This was likely the director's intention to lend an air of sincerity to what some might consider a frivolous or scandalous story. The cast is quite personable, especially Danielle Delorme in the role of Gigi. This appears to have been her first film in a rather successful career in Europe. For all the sumptuousness of the 1959 musical version, which seemed to me to have an air of "smirking" throughout, I prefer this one.
