Perceval le Gallois, an attempt to approach the Middle Ages through medieval iconography
In 1978, Eric Rohmer 'seeks to recapture the spirit of the Middle Ages' by adapting Perceval le Gallois from the text of Chrétien de Troyes. The film is entirely shot in a studio and features a minimalist mise-en-scène with a theatrical form that alternates architectural styles.
It is like leafing through a picture book. The scenographic arrangements that recreate an unreal and stylised world are indeed directly inspired by the illuminations of the XIIIe and XIVe centuries. However, Rohmer's approach is not historical. The illuminations employed are not all contemporary with the narrative.
Rohmer nevertheless asks the actors and actresses to keep their arms close to their bodies in order to better conform to the postures of the figures in medieval illuminations. The filmmaker comments: "I wanted great historical accuracy in the clothes, which are dated very precisely to the 1170s and not after 1180". He also plays with a series of symbols: armour, coats of arms, castle walls.