Gigi

Gigi is a 1949 French comedy film directed by Jacqueline Audry and starring Gaby Morlay, Jean Tissier and Yvonne de Bray. A young girl (Danièle Delorme) who is coming of age and being trained as a courtesan by her family, and realises she not only adores the debonair, close family friend Gaston, who has spoiled her with attention and care for most of her life, but that she is in love with him. Gaston realises the same thing, and despite efforts of Gigi´s down-to-earth, doting grandmother and charming socialite aunt to bring the couple together by the then socially accepted practice, it is the undeniable and compelling love between Gigi and Gaston that triumphs. Directed by Jacqueline Audry, who accentuates the humor of this piece without losing the sensitivity of the young love that takes center stage. The film was based on the 1944 novella Gigi written by Colette. A better-known version, starring Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan, was filmed in 1958. The 1949 film is included as an extra on the 2008 2-disc DVD and 2009 Blu-ray Disc versions of the 1958 film. Plot The story begins in 1900 fin de siecle Paris, and is seen through the eyes of the elderly Honoré LaChaille as he watches the sixteen-year-old school girl Gilberte "Gigi" Alvarez. Gigi is the young ward and granddaughter of Honoré's old friend, Mme. Alvarez. Honoré's nephew, Gaston LaChaille, is the center of Parisian society and heir to the sugar empire of France. Bored with his social life, Gaston finds peace in the apartment of Mme. Alvarez, where he frequently visits.