The Romance Of Astrea And Celadon - French Film By Eric Rohmer

The Hyderabad Film Club is screening a French movie titled "The Romance Of Astrea And Celadon" at the Sarathi Studios in Ameerpet, on 13th March, as a tribute to the French director Eric Rohmer.

The film was directed by Rohmer, and casts Andy Gillet, Stephanie Crayencour, Veronique Reymone, Cecile Cassel and Serge Renko.

The Romance of Astrea and Celadon is an adaptation of L'Astree by Honore d'Urfe, a 16th-century French novel about pastoral lovers in 5th century France. Celadon (Andy Gillet) is the son of a wealthy family, but works as a shepherd in order to earn honest wages. He is in love with Astrea (Stephanie Crayencour), the daughter of a rival family, and the feud between the two clans has made it impossible for them to be together.

During a party where Celadon is cozying up to another of the village wenches as part of the pair's plan to fool their parents into thinking they have given up on one another, Astrea sees the other girl go too far and misunderstands. When she rebukes Celadon as a philanderer, he throws himself into the river, presumably drowning.

Only, he doesn't die, but washes up on shore and is rescued by an aristocratic nymph (Veronique Reymond) who decides to lock the handsome shepherd in her castle and make him her own. Having eyes for no one but Astrea, Celadon desires to escape, and he finds help from the kind Leonide (Cecile Cassel). She smuggles him out, but he refuses to go home, having been forbidden by Astrea from ever crossing her eye line again. Knowing that Astrea would take her words back if she knew her lover were alive, Leonide and her druid uncle (Serge Renko) put a scheme into motion to bring the teenage dreamers back together.

Entry is free for members of Hyderabad Film Club. Please contact Bh S S Prakash Reddy of the Club at 2373-0841/93910-20243 for further details.