“Oh yes, Auntie, I understand. We don’t marry, is that it?”

‘Gigi’, directed by Vincente Minnelli in 1958, is an American musical comedy adapted from the novel ‘Collete’, starring Maurice Chevalier, Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan. Jourdan plays Gaston, a Parisian playboy who is bored and spends his days socialising with women, but in particular enjoys the company of a surrogate grandmother and her granddaughter whose nickname is Gigi. He is encouraged in this life by Honoré Lachaille played by Chevalier, a man too old to woo young women who instead lives vicariously through his nephew. Gigi is being groomed by her grandmother for a life as a mistress of wealthy people and so, in Pygmalion style, she is being trained in elocution and etiquette. Problems arise however, when she falls for the flighty and unreliable Gaston. It’s a colourful, fantastical film: light, frivolous and engaging. It’s clear from movies like this, ‘An American in Paris’ and the films of Jacques Demy where ‘La La Land’ found its inspiration, but whilst that film is a subversion of these themes this movie embodies the pure and un-cynical original spirit. The casting of the movie is perfect and Chevalier stands out as both the centre and the body of the film. The performances aren’t slick and overly choreographed, but have a charm of their own.

Would I recommend it? Yes – it’s light and breezy. Watch in a double bill with Minnelli’s earlier ‘An American in Paris’ for a carefree four hours.