Événement

The Romance of Astrea and Celadon

From My Night at Mauds to Claires Knee, from Chloe in the Afternoon to A Tale of Springtime, Eric Rohmer has made a career out of treating modern romance like the greatest classical love stories. So it is entirely appropriate for this grand master, now 87, to draw inspiration from the classic 17th century French novel The Romance of Astrea and Celadon for his latest and perhaps his last film. Gorgeous and sunkissed, the young shepherd Celadon and the beautiful Astrea are illfated lovers, their romance torn asunder by a sudden misunderstanding. An attempt at suicide lands Celadon in the clutches of the sensual Galathea and her handmaidens, but a helpful passerby soon gives our hero an idea to reenter Astreas life and heart. Filled with nymphs, druids and angels, the film is literally atwitter with the sounds of medieval times, and aflutter with its more sensual sights, including countless breezes caressing the billowing shirts of our hero, heroine and sundry nubile lasses.

Rohmers knack for fable is manifest even in his moderndress films, and in Astrea and Celadon a feeling of fable of more to this story than meets the eye is everpresent. San Francisco Chronicle