Feminist Film of the Day: Colette's Cheri (Trailer)

Cheri is about a romance between a pampered and weak young man and a strong and wise older woman. Starring Michelle Pfieffer, Kathy Bates and Rupert Friend, the women-centric film is in theaters now. Set in 1920s Paris, the film is based on novels (Cheri and The Last of Cheri) by French author Colette.


Chéri, the novel by Colette tells a story of the end of a six-year affair between an aging retired courtesan, Léa, and a pampered young man, Chéri. Turning stereotypes upside-down, it is Chéri who wears silk pajamas and Léa's pearls, and who is the object of gaze. And in the end Léa demonstrates all the survival skills which Colette associates with femininity. (The story continued in The Last of Chéri (1926), which contrasts Léa's strength and Chéri's fragility and decline).

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