It is amazing to think that French writer Colette (1873-1954), world- acclaimed for the imaginative delicacy of her writing and for her indomitable freedom-loving spirit, loomed large on French literature for over five decades and has managed to survive oblivion without even having to endure the least barren period. When in 1900 she first stood out of the crowd, it was, to be true, as much for scandalous reasons as for the qualities of her style. But opprobrium has its compensations: if daring to defy the prudishness of her time through her writings indeed created an outcry it also brought the young woman a cohort of devoted readers. Many indeed were those who bought and read the 'Claudine' series (four spicy episodes in the life of a cheeky teenager turned young married - and bisexual - lady). The novels that followed, once again more or less loosely based on her intimate and/or artistic life ('L'Ingénue libertine', 'La Vagabonde', 'L'Envers du music- hall'...) were also well received, both for their inflammatory content and their inspired style. But the early 1920s marked a turning point in Colette's career as started exploring a new, less provocative vein: evoking her youth. Growing older (she was nearly fifty at the time), the writer felt a sudden urge to look upon her green years. A significant part of her production now concerned the people and the places that had made her youth an enchantment: her mother Sidonie (nicknamed Sido), her native village (Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye), her native region (Burgundy) and its wonderful nature... From 'La maison de Claudine' (1922) to 'Paysages et portraits' (posthumous, 1958), she did write thousands of admirable lines about her ideal first eighteen years and her ideal mother.
Ideal or idealized? That is the very question Jacques Tréfouël, the excellent TV director ('Médecins de nuit', 'Les Eaux dormantes') asks himself in 'I Belong a Place I Have Left'. And he does have questions to ask! Here are some (among others): if Sido was such a perfect mother, why didn't Colette visit her when she was seriously ill while she begged her to? What were her real relationships with her father, one-legged ex-captain Colette? Why did the writer sidestep the eighteen months she spent in Châtillon-sur-Loing after leaving Saint- Sauveur?
To address these uncertainties, Trefouël, playing the sleuth, literally investigates the mystery. He turns his interrogative camera towards Saint-Sauveur and the surrounding countryside (a place which has changed very little since 1890), he snoops around Colette's birth house, he lets us into Colette's school, etc. Like a detective craving to uncover the truth, he interviews and interviews - both local people and Colette specialists (the best known being the novelist-biographer Michel del Castillo). And like a historian, he consults and consults (and shares with the viewer) an impressive number of period documents.
The result is an exciting work, miles away from hagiography, which manages to brush the complex portrait of a complex human being. After seeing this highlight documentary, Colette, Sido and Saint-Sauveur will have lost part of their mythical aura but will have gained authenticity. Which will not prevent you from enjoying Colette's idealized version of her youth: her books dealing with the subject do remain masterpieces of literature, as evidenced by the lines read of Ludmila Mikael and Véronique Silver in the course of the film. Do not be afraid, knowing the author better will not turn you away from her, just the opposite: it will actually give you the desire to immerse yourself in her superbly written memories, idealized as they are.
Ideal or idealized? That is the very question Jacques Tréfouël, the excellent TV director ('Médecins de nuit', 'Les Eaux dormantes') asks himself in 'I Belong a Place I Have Left'. And he does have questions to ask! Here are some (among others): if Sido was such a perfect mother, why didn't Colette visit her when she was seriously ill while she begged her to? What were her real relationships with her father, one-legged ex-captain Colette? Why did the writer sidestep the eighteen months she spent in Châtillon-sur-Loing after leaving Saint- Sauveur?
To address these uncertainties, Trefouël, playing the sleuth, literally investigates the mystery. He turns his interrogative camera towards Saint-Sauveur and the surrounding countryside (a place which has changed very little since 1890), he snoops around Colette's birth house, he lets us into Colette's school, etc. Like a detective craving to uncover the truth, he interviews and interviews - both local people and Colette specialists (the best known being the novelist-biographer Michel del Castillo). And like a historian, he consults and consults (and shares with the viewer) an impressive number of period documents.
The result is an exciting work, miles away from hagiography, which manages to brush the complex portrait of a complex human being. After seeing this highlight documentary, Colette, Sido and Saint-Sauveur will have lost part of their mythical aura but will have gained authenticity. Which will not prevent you from enjoying Colette's idealized version of her youth: her books dealing with the subject do remain masterpieces of literature, as evidenced by the lines read of Ludmila Mikael and Véronique Silver in the course of the film. Do not be afraid, knowing the author better will not turn you away from her, just the opposite: it will actually give you the desire to immerse yourself in her superbly written memories, idealized as they are.