Perceval le Gallois

Taking his inspiration from medieval paintings, Rohmer adapts Chrétien de Troyes' Arthurian poem by creating, entirely in the studio, the world as 12th-century readers and listeners might have imagined it. Mixing music, mime, verse and magnificently imaginative set design to chronicle naïve young Perceval's education in the codes of chivalry, courtship and faith, the film carries surprisingly strong echoes of Rohmer's contemporary comedies of manners. A masterpiece, too seldom seen.