Lancelot of the Lake (1974) by Robert Bresson
Sunday, April 15, 1990, 8:00 pm
LANCELOT OF THE LAKE (1974) BY ROBERT BRESSON; BREAKFAST (1972-76) BY MICHAEL SNOW
“Lancelot… has the breadth of vision and distillation of style that marks the comprehensive late masterpiece of a great artist. The subject of the film is the end of the age of chivalry, the death of a dream. Set in the last days of the quest for the Holy Grail, it describes the spiritual pall that falls over King Arthur’s knights as they are overtaken by the failure of their mission. Bresson’s masterly color photography depicts the bright surfaces of pageantry surrounded by dark, treacherous forests and the twilight tones of a dying age. Horses, armor and pennants take on an almost mystical force.” (Jonathan Rosenbaum) In Breakfast “a continuous zoom traverses the space of a breakfast table, serving as a grand metaphor for indigestion.” (Deke Dusinberre)