Perceval le Gallois (1978)

The exploits of Sir Perceval, a legendary exemplar of knightly chivalry and one of the champions of King Arthur's Round Table.

Director:

Éric Rohmer

Writers:

Éric Rohmer, Chrétien de Troyes (novel)

Stars:

Fabrice Luchini, André Dussollier, Solange Boulanger

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fabrice Luchini	...	Perceval
André Dussollier	...	Gauvain
Solange Boulanger	...	chant, guitare, pucelle etc.
Catherine Schroeder	...	chant, rebec
Francisco Orozco	...	chant, luth
Deborah Nathan	...	flute
Jean-Paul Racodon	...	chant, chalumeau, Chevalier arme, etc
Alain Serve	...	chant, chalumeau, Ecuyer chauve etc.
Daniel Tarrare	...	chant, le Charbonnier, Garin etc.
Pascale Ogier	...	chant, pucelle, dame
Nicolaï Arutene	...	chant, valet, chevalier
Marie Rivière	...	pucelle, dame, Fille de Garin
Pascale Gervais De Lafond	...	pucelle, dame, fille de Garin
Pascale de Boysson	...	La Veuve Dame
Clémentine Amouroux	...	La Pucelle de la tente

Storyline

The exploits of Sir Perceval, a legendary exemplar of knightly chivalry and one of the champions of King Arthur's Round Table.

---

Plot Keywords:

king | king arthur | chivalry | lesbian kiss | sword and sorcery | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Les Films du Losange

Country:

France Italy West Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

7 February 1979 (France)

Also Known As:

Perceval

Filming Locations:

Studios Eclair, Epinay-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Losange, France 3 (FR 3), Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Perceval: By my faith, I won't hide it longer, Sire. My name is Perceval of Wales.

---

Connections

Referenced in Love on the Run (1979)

User Reviews

A vision of pure beauty

I'm at a loss over what I could say about Eric Rohmer's Perceval. I was so deeply affected by it. I'm guessing that many will be annoyed at the French New Wave style, which I personally love. I'm definitely a French New Wave fan. I'm not really a Rohmer fan, though. This is only the second Rohmer film I've seen, after his 1997 film An Autumn Tale (I think that's what it's called). I was unimpressed with that. Perceval will probably lead me to see more of his films, although, from what I've heard, this film is stylistically different than anything else he has ever made. Heck, I haven't seen anything at all similar in style in the many, many films I've seen. It's as if it takes place within the world of the theater. Naturalism is thrown out the window. The landscape is reduced to a bare minimum. Trees are sculpted out of metal, and are more symbols of trees than trees themselves. Castles are small, like the skenes of ancient Greek theater. The palette is made up of mostly primary colors. White appears frequently, and there are a couple of scenes with some purple. Silver and gold are abundant. This goes for the sets and constumes. The acting is exaggerated, I think, to imitate a Medieval style. Best of all, a lot of the narrative is sung to gorgeous Medieval arrangements. This is perhaps the most hypnotizing aspect of the film.

The only thing that has a tendency to disappoint is the narrative. It's choppy, things go unresolved and so forth. It didn't bother me too much. I've actually read some Medieval literature, and it doesn't generally obey Aristotle's rules. The main piece that feels unresolved is the story of Gawain. Only after about one hundred minutes does he become important, the story follows him for a while, and then it goes back to Perceval, never to return again. Still, this didn't bother me too much. There's not an individual scene in the film that lacks beauty. Several are amongst the most beautiful ever captured on film. Perceval even contains the second most powerful version of the Passion of Jesus Christ I've ever seen in a film, slightly behind the one in Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev. I know that I will come back to Perceval as soon as I can to study it closer and love it more. It's instantly one of my favorite films. 10/10.