Robert Bresson-Lancelot du Lac (1974)

Set in the last days of the doomed quest for the Holy Grail, this is a tale of the end of the age of chivalry and the death of a dream. Riding through dark, treacherous forests, King Arthur's knights return to Camelot, their ranks decimated, their morale gone. Lancelot in particular feels responsible for their failure, sure that his adulterous love for Queen Guinevere has ruined their mission. Discouragement hangs over everything, staining the bright pageantry of the court with the twilight tones of a dying age. Shot with the astonishing, austere beauty that marks all of his work, this powerful chronicle of the end of the Round Table ranks with Bresson's finest achievements.



A million miles away from 'Camelot' or 'Excalibur', this film ruthlessly strips the Arthurian legend down to its barest essentials. Arthur's knights, far from being heroic, are conniving and greedy men who, just before the film starts, have failed miserably to find the Holy Grail. Aimlessly resentful at first, the developing relationship between Lancelot and Queen Guinevere focuses their rage, leading to inevitable tragedy… (http://imdb.com/title/tt0071737/plotsummary)




It is shown in the most raw way possible, without any kind of beauty or visual show to please the audience. That's the essence of Bresson's cinema: "only the necessary", said the master. Then, after the credits, we see that is not the Holy Grail story, the traditional story, but what happens next, it begins were the legend ends. The knights return demoralized to the kingdom. Their leader, Percival, is lost, and Lancelot blames himself and his adultery with Guinevere as the reason that the Grail was not found- the search for it was, for him, also the search for God. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0071737/usercomments)




The Queen is not convinced, and ask his love with words which have nothing extraordinary alone; however, the emotionless way she asks makes it unusual, and somewhat disturbing. The knights are completely demystified and shown not as legend, but men, and men which lack something: is it love, God, a reason to live now that their search is over (and was unsuccessful)? Maybe all that, maybe more, but the fact is that eventually it will explode, and Camelot's decadence will be inevitable. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0071737/usercomments)




Bresson's ultra-naturalistic and anti-conventional style makes it's images very powerful. The best are a tournament when he applies one of his principles "to give something for the ears and then for the eyes, never both", increasing the effect of the combats, which would have seem even foolish otherwise, and the ending, which is a very shocking one. Because of all that, Lancelot of the Lake is one of the finest films of one of cinema's greatest masters. Mainstream audiences will probably hate it, but one who's eager to see another side of a very known story should see it. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0071737/usercomments)












Links to previous movie posts:

From 1# to 170# please refer to page :
170 Michelangelo Antonioni-Identificazione di una donna (1982)

171 Erick Zonca-La Vie rêvée des anges (1998)
172 Miklós Jancsó-Még kér a nép ('Red Psalm') (1972)
173 F.W. Murnau-Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
174 Werner Herzog-Nosferatu, Phantom der Nacht (1979)
175 Peter Greenaway-The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
176 Yasujiro Ozu-Tokyo monogatari ('Tokyo Story') (1953)
177 Abbas Kiarostami-Ta'm e guilass ('Taste of Cherry') (1997)
178 Bertrand Bonello-Le Pornographe (2001)
179 François Truffaut-L'Homme qui aimait les femmes (1977)
180 György Pálfi-Hukkle (2002)
181 Gillo Pontecorvo-La Battaglia di Algeri (1966)
182 Paolo e Vittorio Taviani-La Notte di San Lorenzo (1982)
183 Aleksandr Dovzhenko-Arsenal (1928)
184 Béla Tarr-Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)
185 Jean-Claude Lauzon - Léolo (1992)
186 Otar Iosseliani-Pastorali (1975)
187 Chris Marker-Sans soleil (1982)
188 Krzysztof Kieslowski-Dekalog 4 (1988)
189 Krzysztof Kieslowski-Dekalog 7 (1988)
190 Krzysztof Kieslowski-Dekalog 8 (1988)
191 Krzysztof Kieslowski-Dekalog 9 (1988)
192 Krzysztof Kieslowski-Dekalog 10 (1988)
193 Robert Bresson-Lancelot du Lac (1974)