Grand Illusion

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William B A great classic. One of the best of French films. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/25 Full Review BowTangey M The most interesting facet of this famed antiwar movie is that it was made in 1937, about the First World War, before the horrors of the Second showed how little had been learned. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/03/25 Full Review Marit Risto F I just love it. The way they're making a joke of war. Made by Pierre-Auguste Renoir's son! Jean Gabin I find fabulous too. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/11/24 Full Review Eli B Grand Illusion explores the idea of social class and the bonds that are formed between people who are on opposite sides of a conflict. Through the interactions between the French and German soldiers, the movie highlights the common humanity that exists between people, regardless of nationality. Full review: https://cinephilecorner.com/reviews/grand-illusion-movie-1937/ Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/21/24 Full Review harwee h Renoir at his peak. A classic of classic. Minor shortcomings keep it from being perfect. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/22/23 Full Review Matthew B La Grande Illusion is a war movie that is largely unknown to the general public, and yet adored by serious film critics. Perhaps this is because the average audience member looks for punctuation in a film, a greater emphasis on important point or action scenes. Jean Renoir offers none of this. The camera glides across the room, and sometimes outside without any sharp jolts. To aid this process, Renoir used movable sets so that he did not need to edit scenes that move from conversations occurring inside rooms to events taking place outside in the camp yard, establishing a unity between the many people in the camp. War movies, even when they have an anti-war message, often serve to glorify the soldiers. We are caught up in the excitement of the fighting, and honour the courage and heroism on display. Not so Renoir. The action takes place almost exclusively around prison camps until the last act of the film. There are no scenes of aerial combat or planes being shot down. This was due to budget constraints, but fits in well with Renoir's pacifist viewpoint. However Renoir is not playing down the men's heroism in order to undermine the courage and tenacity shown by the soldiers. His portrayal of the French and German fighters is respectful. Ever the humanist, Renoir shows small acts of kindness and self-sacrifice. If some scenes recall the clichés of prison camp movies, it is because Renoir essentially invented or popularised those clichés – prisoners digging tunnels and disposing of the dirt in the yard (as in The Great Escape), the men attending a revue for entertainment, officers singing together, the French troops leading a defiant chorus of La Marseillaise (an idea used in Casablanca), and the male bonding and comradeship of the prisoners. What is the grand illusion of the title? Various characters hold illusions. The aristocratic Captain de Boëldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and Rittmeister von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim) are desperately clinging to an illusion that the nobility still matter, and will have an important place after the war is finished. Even the aristocrats will not be kept safe from the horrors of war. Von Rauffenstein wears a neck and back brace that hinder his movements, the result of an early injury. He has burns, a fractured spine, and silver plates. The other aristocrat, de Boëldieu will die while distracting the guards during a planned escape. The working-class Lieutenant Maréchal (Jean Gabin) and the Jewish nouveau riche businessman Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio) hold the illusion that they need to fight until the war is over, and there will not be another one. By 1939, Renoir was fully aware how hollow this hope was. Later the escapees meet a German widow, Elsa (Dita Parlo). She shows them pictures of her brothers, who all died in the first year of World War One. The table in her lounge is too big for the use of herself and her son, because the other family members have died. The war will not be ended quickly by the well-meant efforts of Maréchal and Rosenthal, Perhaps Maréchal and Rosenthal will return to the war only to meet their deaths. In Renoir's view, war was futile, the grandest illusion of them all. He felt that that people were united by common economic and social interests that transcended ideology, nationality and race. This may seem to be an idealistic view to hold on the eve of a war that showed that people's sense of nationality still mattered more than class, but it was an important thing to say at this time. I wrote a longer appreciation of La Grande Illusion on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2020/11/20/la-grande-illusion-1937/ Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Grand Illusion

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