Perceval le Gallois (Rohmer, 1978): Cinema Museum, 7pm
This presentation, as part of the Painted Skies season, includes an introduction by season curator Bruno Savill De Jong and a panel discussion afterwards with medievalist scholar Sarah Salih, Immersive Art specialist Ed Cookson and LARP expert Vicky Hawley.
Unique amongst auteur Éric Rohmer’s output, Perceval le Gallois (1978) places its Arthurian legend between Medieval illustrations and classic studio-bound Westerns. As naïve Perceval (Fabrice Luchini) seeks to become a knight, he roams around a hermetically-sealed set with painted castles and minimalist trees. Rohmer’s adaptation of Chrétien de Troyes’s 12th Century poem makes no attempts at ‘realism’, instead rendering the Medieval world as it saw itself, including third-person narration and a singing chorus. A rare but celebrated treat, Perceval is a fascinating film that finds beauty in its literal and figurative simplicity, with Andréa Picard calling it “Éric Rohmer’s masterpiece maudit, undoubtedly one of the most original, daring and meticulous devised films in all of cinema.”
Painted Skies is a film season celebrating fake backgrounds, spotlighting films with innovative set design that reminds us of their artificiality. This season was curated by Bruno Savill De Jong as part of the National Film and Television School (NFTS). Find more info at their website for Painted Skies and follow them on Instagram (@paintedsky_films) and Twitter (@paintedskyfilm).
Chicago Reader review:
Eric Rohmer’s least typical and least popular film also happens to be
his best: a wonderful version of Chretien de Troyes’ 12th-century epic
poem, set to music, about the adventures of an innocent knight.
Deliberately artificial in style and setting—the perspectives are as
flat as in medieval tapestries, the colors bright and vivid, the musical
deliveries strange and often comic—the film is as faithful to its
source as it can be, given the limited material available about the
period. Rohmer’s fidelity to the text compels him to include narrative
descriptions as well as dialogue in the sung passages. Absolutely
unique—a must for medievalists, as well as filmgoers looking for
something different. This film also features the acting debut of the
late and very talented Pascal Ogier.
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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