Well, this is very odd — I was expecting a costume drama, but instead it’s… more abstract? And somebody’s spent a lot of money on MDF and paint?
Did this originate as a stage play? Both the sets and the acting are super stylised.
Oh! Gallois means “welshman” — I assumed it meant like er gaul. But I guess it’s Asterix the Gaul, not the Gallois…
Oh, is this based on a fairy tale?
Oh:
based on the 12th-century Arthurian romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail by Chrétien de Troyes
It’s based on the real thing. I mean, as these things go…
This is so weird — the Perceval character is a total moron, and apparently a total psycho, too?
It’s so close to being, well, Pythonesque… but instead it’s serious? Or is it? I’m not quite sure whether Rohmer is poking fun at the Arthur thing or taking it super-hyper seriously?
OK, he’s making fun of it.
Having a Greek chorus is very handy when doing plot recaps.
I like they way the switch between delivering their lines and reciting stage instructions.
This movie is something else, even on an Oddball Movie scale. But is it good? I’m not fascinated exactly, and I’m not laughing either… but I’m not bored. It’s très amusant, as kids say these day.
Rohmer asks the same question.
Wow, that’s cool…
Uhm uhm I zoned out there for a minute, and now we’re somehow doing the crucifixion of the Christ? How did that happen?!
Rohmer was famously very Catholic, but again — this seems to be making more fun of the proceedings than anything else…
What with the choir in a corner singing along to the nails being pounded in.
It’s just such an odd movie.
I did enjoy this puzzling movie, but I’m not sure it was worth spending this much time on it. It’s almost two and a half hours, and while the final half hour did eventually make sense in context (plot threads were tied), it’s… just a lot?
So while there were parts I loved, I’m gonna lowball it:
Perceval. Éric Rohmer. 1978. ⚃
