Violence/Gore: Decapitation, slit throats, arrows in horses’ heads, lances pushing men off horses, swords to the crotch, abdominal injuries, skewered chests, and rotted corpses hanging from trees, all delivered in a washed out “realistic” style that will have many a film viewer recalling the style of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL.

Sex/Nudity: Guinevere’s unclothed posterior.

Best Line: “You are stupid and will never understand anything.” (peasant woman to Lancelot as he armors up for battle after she has tended his wounds)

Score:

Arthur’s knights have failed in their quest to find the Holy Grail. Lancelot has returned and awaiting him is Guinevere, who wants to rekindle their love affair. Lancelot believes that God has commanded him to end this adulterous relationship and begs Guinevere to set him free, but she refuses and Lancelot’s will weakens. Only tragedy can result.

For many, this film is the cinematic equivalent of having their eyes rubbed with sandpaper. Robert Bresson’s take on the Arthurian legend is devoid of the romanticism prevalent in most cinematic adaptations. The actors are plain; the color scheme is drab; Arthur’s knights, with few exceptions, are portrayed as selfish and opportunistic; the violence is brutal but homely; and the general mood is one of persistent melancholy. For fans of renaissance festivals, this film is like having your dreams pissed on.

Imagine MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL free of laughs but with more violence, more explorations of the human animal and a pace that makes 80 minutes feel like 12 hours, and you’ll have a fair idea of what LANCELOT OF THE LAKE is like. Many people who have seen this film have found it extraordinarily tedious. I, however, loved it.

Robert Bresson has a slow, steady pace that allows the action to unfold in its own time. He does not condescend to use devices that will help “move it on a bit” - even if, for the most part, it would be damn nice if he did - and so LANCELOT moves on in its way like a slug with a Ford Escort on its back.

For people who find such deliberate pacing annoying - and really, who can blame you? - please pass. For those who tend to throw around words such as “lyrical,” “stylish,” “profound,” and “realistic unreality,” rent the movie this very second.

Bresson is a (get your ‘ugh’ ready) cinematic poet who expects the audience to fill in the gaps. Many of his scenes feel like fragments of a larger piece, and he is fond of throwing in quaint “truisms” - at one point, Lancelot’s self-control is noted as a virtue often mistaken for a weakness, or something along those lines. I’m sure you get the drift. If that kind of stuff makes you nauseous, walk on by.

Personally, I enjoyed Bresson’s film. The Arthurian legend is freed from the romantic notions of nobility and heroism, and instead it presents the characters as flawed beings whose human weaknesses could result in grave consequences. I’ll be returning to this film again.

DVD Extras: This was viewed on VHS and was devoid of extras. The movie will be released on DVD on May 25, 2004 on New Yorker Video. It will boast a widescreen transfer and the theatrical trailer.

AH