Screened as part of NZIFF 2008

The Romance of Astrea and Céladon 2007

Les amours d’Astrée et de Céladon

Directed by Eric Rohmer

At 87, Eric Rohmer, lifelong connoisseur and satirist of the romantic misadventures of the young and self-absorbed, finds inspiration in a classic Arcadian romance.

France / Italy / Spain In French with English subtitles
109 minutes 35mm / CinemaScope

Director

Screenplay

Eric Rohmer. Based on the novel L'Astrée by Honoré d'Urfé

Photography

Diane Baratier

Editor

Mary Stephen

Music

Jean-Louis Valéro

With

Andy Gillet
,
Stéphanie Crayencour
,
Cécile Cassel
,
Véronique Reymond
,
Rosette

Festivals

Venice, Toronto, New York 2007; Rotterdam, San Francisco 2008

Elsewhere

At 87, Eric Rohmer, lifelong connoisseur and satirist of the romantic misadventures of the young and self-absorbed, finds inspiration in a classic 17th-century French text, an Arcadian romance set in 5th-century Gaul. The shepherd Céladon and the beautiful Astrea are lovers until their romance is torn asunder by a sudden misunderstanding which lands Céladon in the clutches of the sensual Galathea and her handmaidens. A helpful passerby suggests our hero disguise himself to re-enter Astrea's life and heart. "Like all things old becoming new again, this ancient tale embodies Rohmer's very contemporary themes, presenting its mélange of romantic befuddlement, entanglement and desire as effortlessly and entertainingly as any modern romance. Deliciously anachronistic, this sweet-natured idyll is the great director's farewell to a lifetime of star-crossed, verbose and ever-so-lovely lovers." — Jason Sanders, San Francisco International Film Festival