The Rules of the Game

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Gus L Renoir found it remarkably easy to come up with subplots and one scene characters, so he focused on that instead of actually creating a plot or a protagonist. There is no discernible character development or movement from the beginning to the end. It was, as Larry David may say, "a show about nothing." While that may work well for a sitcom or a play, a film without a plot or protagonist is a disappointing film indeed. Three stars for the witty dialogue and well-executed slapstick. I can justify no more than that. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/17/24 Full Review bob c too convoluted for me Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/24 Full Review George B I'm going to be in the minority here. I found Rules of the Game to be mildly amusing in places, but overall boring. And lacking in consistent tone. It's been hailed as a masterpiece. I thought it a mediocrepiece. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/10/23 Full Review acsdoug D I understand this film's place in cinematic history. In 1939 it must have been pretty groundbreaking, what with its advanced cinematic techniques and a plot where everybody is screwing everybody else. Eighty-four years later, however, it didn't have much impact on me. If this is how the French were then it's no wonder the Germans had so little trouble rolling through France a year later. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/24/23 Full Review Thomas V This is a great film. Brilliant social satire that is lively, funny and all around entertaining, but with a message about class and the interaction between haves and have nots. Noone is spared from the satire though, and thats what is so interesting. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member On a surface level, "Rules of the Game" seems deceptively trivial; even the comedy feels sporadic and inconsistent. The passive fashion in which the film regards sudden moments of tragedy and callousness is jarring, and we're left with a sense of a film that is figuring itself out in the process of unfolding. Yet looming in the background is our knowledge of the wartime carnage that was to come, and the uneven nature of the work produces a wholly unique impact when one accounts for Renoir's likely premonitions of the darkness facing the nation and indeed the world at large. Dialogue is generally casual and yet slyly revealing and insightful, and the playfully unorthodox choreography of the film hits right at the center of Renoir's mockery of superficial elegance. We laugh, we are shocked, we squirm, and we reflect. If ever there were a film stubbornly resistant to being pigeonholed in every technical, thematic, and aesthetic aspect, "Rules of the Game" surely fits the bill. Transcending such limitations, the film acquires an ability to increasingly dazzle us with repeated viewings, and is second to none in its capability of yielding up new revelations and insights every time. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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