Colette is a documentary film which premiered in 2024.
This film is about the life and work of the famous French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954).
This film is an episode of a series called Les Docs de la Grande Librarie.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Director: Catherine Aventurier
** Writer: Margaux Opinel
** Narrator: François Busnel
** The words of Colette are spoken by Florence Loiret Caille
** This film is available on the website TV5 monde plus
** Language: French
** Subtitles: English
** Run time: 90 minutes
Several historical and literary experts are interviewed in this film. Here are the names of the participants. Listed in alphabetical order:
** Régine Detambel (born 1963)
** Emmanuelle Lambert (born 1975)
** Frédéric Maget
** Nicholas Matthieu (born 1978)
** Mona Ozouf (born 1931)
** Lydie Salvayre (born 1946)
This film covers the life of Colette from the beginning in 1873 to the end in 1954. In this film, the story of her life is divided into six chapters. Here are the headlines:
Chapter 1
I Belong to a Land I Have Left
(1873-1893)
Chapter 2
Mrs. Willy’s Lessons
(1893-1905)
Chapter 3
Hide That Breast
(1905-1911)
Chapter 4
Becoming Colette
(1911-1921)
Chapter 5
Maturity
(1925-1939)
Chapter 6
The Good Lady of the Palais Royal
(1939-1954)
Colette’s literary career began while she was married
to a man whose name was Henry Gauthier-Villars. He was a famous writer. He was known as Willy.
He was a prolific writer, because he did not write everything himself. He had a small army of ghostwriters who would produce the first version of a new book.
Willy would go over the manuscript and make a few corrections here and there. As soon as this was done, the manuscript was ready for publication and he could turn his attention to the next manuscript.
While Colette was his wife, she became one of his ghostwriters. Her literary career began when she was a ghostwriter for her husband!
Over several years, she wrote a series of four books about the life of a young woman called Claudine. Her stories about Claudine were more or less auto-biographical.
When Willy saw the manuscript for the first book, he did not like it. For a while, nothing happened. But then he changed his mind. He made a few corrections here and there, and suddenly the book was ready for publication.
Three more books followed. The four books about Claudine, which were published under Willy’s name, became very popular in France. Before long they were translated into English.
Here are the titles:
** Claudine at School
(1900)
** Claudine in Paris
(1901)
** Claudine is married
(1902)
** Claudine and Annie
(1904)
When Colette realised she could write, she had an idea: perhaps she could be a writer under her own name? After a while, she also realised that she wanted to leave her husband in order to be in control of her own life.
She separated from Willy in 1906. She divorced him in 1910. After the separation and after the divorce, she began a second career as a writer. She became a successful writer under her own name. She became one of the most famous writers in France.
She wrote books as well as articles for newspapers and magazines. The following are some of her most famous books:
** La Naissance du jour
(1928)
** Sido
(1929)
** Gigi
(1944)
** Le Fanal Bleu
(1949)
One question about her legacy:
Was she a feminist?
The answer to this question is no.
She did not give talks about feminism.
She did not write articles about feminism.
While a movement for the female vote existed during her lifetime, she was not involved in this movement.
The members of this movement were known as suffragettes. But she was not a member of this movement. In fact, she said she was not a feminist; she was not a suffragette.
But when we look at her life, we can see that she lived it as a feminist. She was a wife and a mother. But this is not all. She did more than that. She had an education and she used it to build a career as a famous writer of books and articles. It was an amazing accomplishment.
She was a pioneer. She was a trailblazer. The women who came after her are grateful for what she did.
What do reviewers say about this film?
This question is not easy to answer.
The film is not listed on IMDb.
There is no rating.
There are no user reviews.
The story about Colette is interesting. It deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Film and video
Colette
This historical drama premiered in 2018.
It has two flaws.
The first is minor; the second is major.
The first flaw
This drama does not cover her whole life from the beginning in 1873 to the end in 1954. It covers only a small part of her life: the years from 1892 to 1905. This is a minor flaw.
The second flaw
All characters in this drama speak English. In this drama, only one character (an American woman) has a good reason to speak English. All other characters are French, but they all speak English!
This is a serious violation of historical truth!
For details about this historical drama,
# 2. Books
Secrets of the Flesh:
A Life of Colette
By Judith Thurman
(1999 = hardcover)
(2000 = paperback)
Colette’s France:
Her Lives, Her Loves
By Jane Gilmour
(2013)
*****
The famous french writer
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
(known as Colette)
(1873-1954)
*****
The famous French writer
Henry Gauthier-Villars
(1859-1931)
(known as Willy)
Colette's first husband
They were married in 1893
They separated in 1906
They divorced in 1910
*****
The first book in the series about Claudine
This is the French version
This volume was published
under the name Willy
*****
The first book in the series about Claudine
This is the English version
This volume was published
under the name Colette
*****
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