France, 1640: Cyrano, the charismatic swordsman-poet with the absurd nose, hopelessly loves the beauteous Roxane; she, in turn, confesses to Cyrano her love for the handsome but tongue-tied Christian. The chivalrous Cyrano sets up with Christian an innocent deception, with tragic results. Much cut from the play, but dialogue not rewritten.

At their annual tea party reunion, an Indian princess (Madhur Jaffrey), long divorced and living in self-exile in London, and her father's ex-tutor, Cyril Sahib (James Mason) view home-movie footage of their former life in India. While the recollections of the Princess are selective and hazily nostalgic, Cyril's memories about their common past and her father, the Maharaja, have left him disillusioned and appalled. Official Selection at the **New York Film Festival**.