Perceval le Gallois
Perceval le Gallois | |
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Directed by | Éric Rohmer |
Written by | Éric Rohmer Chrétien de Troyes (poem) |
Produced by | Margaret Ménégoz Barbet Schroeder |
Starring | Fabrice Luchini André Dussollier |
Cinematography | Néstor Almendros |
Edited by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 140 minutes |
Country | France/Italy/West Germany |
Language | French |
Perceval le Gallois is a 1978 French period drama film directed by Éric Rohmer. It was inspired by Chrétien de Troyes's 12th-century Arthurian romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail.
Synopsis[]
The film chronicles Perceval's knighthood, maturation and eventual peerage amongst the Knights of the Round Table, and also contains brief episodes from the story of Gawain and the crucifixion of Christ.
Presentation[]
Unlike other screen adaptations of Arthurian legend, the film makes no attempt at situating the characters in a natural or supernatural world. Instead, Perceval and his cohorts inhabit a colorful theatrical realm replete with rudimentary props, stylized backdrops, and a singing chorus that participates in the drama. At many points, characters narrate their own actions and thoughts rather than expressing them manifestly, and dialog is frequently spoken lyrically in rhyming couplets taken directly from the original text. The film's deliberate artificiality, ironic vision of youthful valor, and frequently shifting narrative modes prevent emotional attachment to the story while leaving space for a more cerebral engagement with the elements of storytelling Rohmer has interpreted from 12th-century literature.
Cast[]
The film features Fabrice Luchini as Perceval, André Dussolier as Gauvain, Arielle Dombasle as Blanchefleur, Marie Rivière as Garin's daughter and Pascale de Boysson as La Veuve Dame.
References[]
- Lacy, Norris J.(1991). "Eric Rohmer". In Norris J. Lacy (Ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, p. 389. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.
- Paden, William D. "I Learned it at the Movies: Teaching Medieval Film." In: Postmodern Medievalisms, ed. Richard Utz and Jesse G. Swan (Cambridge: Brewer, 2004), pp. 79–98.
External links[]
- 1978 films
- French-language films
- Arthurian films
- Adaptations of works by Chrétien de Troyes
- Films directed by Éric Rohmer
- French films
- Films based on French novels
- Films produced by Barbet Schroeder
- Films produced by Margaret Ménégoz
- 1970s French film stubs