Movie: Chérie

Chéri stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Léa de Lonval and Rupert Friend as the titular character Fred 'Chéri' Peloux in the late 19th, early 20th century drama/romance.   Set in Paris, France, Léa is a fictional courtesan, supposed to be one of the most famous of her time.  She is close to "retirement age" for a courtesan, but she ends up spending six years with young lover Chéri'.  Chéri' is the son of Léa's courtesan friend Charlotte Peloux (played by Kathy Bates), and according to the narrator, used to be fierce rivals in their younger days.  Yes, they are more than 20 years apart.


Despite their large age difference, the relationship seems to be a happy one, until Charlotte decides that it is time for young Chéri' to be married.  Both Léa and Chéri' are no innocent people in this playing field, but this forced separation truly makes them realize that they are in fact the one and only true love of each other.  What follows is months of agony on both ends, which ultimately leads to the film's final climax and heartbreaking end. 

Michelle Pfeiffer plays the part of Léa exactly as you want to envision her character:  aging, but still full of charm, poise, and class (at least that's what her character's first impression is supposed to be).  Rupert Friend plays the handsome boy toy that most women cannot resist falling in love with.  He is spoiled and a player in every respect, who only succumbs to Léa.  The supporting cast was also strong, and the witty dialogue and punches the women throw with words never cease to amaze me.  The costumes and cinematography is beautiful, and combined with the music scores, really brings the Belle Époque alive. 

「Chérie」這部電影發在十九世紀末，二十世紀初時在法國巴黎。電影的主角由蜜雪兒菲佛主演Léa de Lonval的角色，是一位當時法國社會裡重要的高級妓女(courtesan)。歷史上，這些妓女常是許多政商名流的情人，遊走於上流社會，在眾多場合裡甚至是很有影響力的。Léa已經邁入中年，雖然仍是有姿色的女人，但青春年華已不在，該是考慮隱退的時候了。(註：最有名的courtesan，過的生活極富裕，甚至比一些貴族還要有錢。」

Léa的友人Charlotte，昔日「職場」上的敵人，有一位二十幾歲的年輕兒子Fred Peloux.。Léa從他幼小的時候，就給了他"chérie"的暱稱，也是法文「親愛的」的意思。二人相差二十幾歲，又都是情場上的高手，原本只是逢場作戲，但一轉眼就是六年。這一段姊弟戀，沒有任何前提，沒有責任，只是追求單純的快樂。終究，因為Charlotte要幫Chéri敲定別的婚事而兩人被迫結束這一段戀情。也只有在兩人分離的時候，他們才知道，互相才是自己的真愛。接下來故事中的幾個月，雙方都飽受煎熬。二人生不逢時的愛情，又會怎麼劃下句點？　

我喜歡看古裝劇，而這部片中漂亮的服飾，美麗的場景，還有抒情的配樂，呈現了二十世紀初的巴黎的模樣。Michelle Pfeiffer飾演的角色，再也貼切不過。在穿著的品味上還有一舉一動都看出她的自信和女人味。她只輸給時間，因為容貌不在，但換來的是情場上無數的經驗，讓她的表情隨時都神情自若，內心不管怎樣講話都不動聲色。演Cherie的Rupert Friend，生得一副小白臉樣，難怪給破天荒讓Lea反過頭來包養，卻相當甘願。片中的情慾戲，點到為止，除了更唯美，而且更有意境。另外部本人也很喜愛的1958片Gigi(得了1959最佳奧斯卡)，雖同樣是描述一位courtesan，但是部輕鬆搞笑的歌舞片。Cherie，則帶著幾分正經，幾分浪漫，和幾分哀傷刻畫出另一位巴黎courtesan的故事。