Perceval le Gallois (1978) - film review

Brought up by his widowed mother to know nothing about war and pageantry, the Welsh youth Perceval is awe-struck when he meets a knight for the first time.  He leaves his mother and heads off to the court of King Arthur so that he too can become a knight.  Having won the King’s favour, the newly knighted Perceval takes lessons in chivalry and wins the heart of the fair maiden Blanchefeur.  Perceval’s thirst for adventure leads him to the Holy Grail...

Eric Rohmer’s second historical film (after Die Marquise von O…) is his most provocative and uncharacteristic work to date.  It is based on a Twelfth century poem by the French writer Chrétien de Troyes, which tells the life of the Arthurian hero, Perceval of Wales.

Rohmer’s intention was to recreate the lyrical style of the poem in the medium of film, whilst capturing the essence of the period in which it is set.  To that end, the costumes and sets are based closely on religious paintings of the Middle Ages, with the direction and acting being equally stylised.  To make the film accessible to a modern audience, Rohmer updated Chrétien de Troyes’ work to modern French, whilst retaining the structure of the poem and the use of rhyming couplets.

Although the result is not quite Rohmer’s most polished or satisfying work, it is nonetheless a work of considerable artistic merit.  The film possesses an uncanny timeless quality which provides an experience which is far more theatrical than cinematic, spiritual than corporeal.    Rohmer’s panache for humour is noticeable (as in all of his films) in both the text and the performances.  It is this which provides the film with much of its humanity and prevents it from ever being a sterile exercise in intellectual self-indulgence.

The film’s distinctive visual style is dominated by the Spartan set design, which includes miniature gold castles and forests of metallic trees in front of a simple painted backdrop.  This is a far cry from the usual lavish historical drama which most devotees of French cinema are used to, but then there is altogether a different kind of film.  Rohmer seeks to evoke the essence of the age of chivalry without the gory details, through simple imagery, poetry and music.  This is not so much a film in the traditional sense; rather it is a quintessentially Rohmeresque meditation on the nature of desire and faith, transposed to a child’s idealised picture of Arthurian legend.

© James Travers 2002

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