SFFS Screen presents The Romance of Astrea and Celadon June 27, 2008

The San Francisco Film Society announced today the initial films that will open SFFS Screen, the innovative exhibition partnership with Sundance Cinemas that will enable the Film Society to present its acclaimed film programs and events at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas year-round on a daily basis.

The Romance of Astrea and Celadon (Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon, France/Italy/Spain 2007, SFIFF 2008) is written and directed by Eric Rohmer, who 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 pastoral novel by Honore d’Urfe for his latest film. Gorgeous and sun-kissed, the young shepherd Celadon (Andy Gillet) and the beautiful Astrea (Stéphanie Crayencour) are ill-fated lovers. An attempt at suicide lands Celadon in the clutches of the sensual Galathea (Veronique Reymond) and her handmaidens, but a helpful druid priest (Serge Renko) soon gives our hero an idea to reenter Astrea’s life and heart. 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. Photographed by Diane Baratier. With Cécile Cassel, Mathilde Mosnier. (109 min)

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