 |  | Not Goebbels favourite film |  |
Many European artists of the 20th century had the rare privilege of knowing that their creations were important to society as they were banned by governments who disliked them (not so in today's democratic age where you can make just about any political or cultural point you like (except offend Muslims) and no one will take a blind bit of notice).
Goebbels siezed La Grande Illusion when the Nazis invaded France as he didn't take to the movie's message that war was a tragic heedless imposition that drove people against each other who otherwise found great solidarity amongst fraternities and languages. Honestly, watch this movie, with its tender, wistful and comic scenes of friendship and love between French and Germans and you will gape again at the blunt, inhumanity of the Nazis who must have forced themselves to shut them off from every sympathetic human emotion in order to perpetuate the attrocities they did.
Oh, and by the way, don't get this edition but rather then DVD with the cover of the dove impaled on barbed wire through the chest of a black shod soldier. That version features a charming interview with an eloquent French film critic who sheds interesting light on the film in its historical context. (I am a history teacher so I like to pick up on these things).
December 31, 2008Jean Renoir's 1937 black and white film, Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion), is often bandied about with Citizen Kane on the list of all time great films, but unlike that film, Grand Illusion was a commercial and critical sensation from its initial release. While both are arguably great films, neither is really within sniffing distance of any mythic top spot. Both have flaws, but Grand Illusion has more flaws than Citizen Kane and is clearly the lesser film, although it's still certainly a very good film. It was written by Renoir- son of the famed Impressionist painter Auguste Renoir, and Charles Spaak, based upon Renoir's own adventures as a World War One Flyboy, and in many ways is well ahead of Hollywood films of that era, in terms of dealing with life and the way common people really spoke. In fact, it was one of the earliest films to have its characters all speak in their native tongues, and its influence upon later prison camp escape movies, such as The Great Escape, is manifest. That said, after a strong start, the film meanders for a while until the actual escape, and sort of meekly limps to a schmaltzy end. Simply put, Renoir had no real way to end the film memorably, and admittedly improvising the ending.... While Grand Illusion is not be the masterpiece that it is claimed to be, for its maudlin score, sketchy screenplay, and anomic ending are its greatest flaws, it is certainly a good film worth pondering. The thing that most people ponder about is the film's title. What exactly is the grand, or great- in French, illusion? Some have asserted it's the illusion of class, or nationality, that those things are real, or that war is noble, or can be gentlemanly. Some critics claim it was the idea that the Great War was The War To End All Wars, or that real love and happiness are possible in this world. All of these interpretations are correct, yet all of them are wrong, as the film is about none, yet all, of those things. It is like the elephant and seven blind men, and viewers will find their own meanings in the work and its title. Nor is it simply a film about escaping a prison camp, nor about jingoistic politics, nor even an essay on the collapse of the Old World Order of Europe. It is, perhaps, best viewed not as a record of what really was, but what should have been, and what might be. In this way it reminds me of the British film Things To Come, by William Cameron Menzies, based upon the H.G. Wells novel. While that film is set in the now anachronistic `distant future' of the 21st Century, it has much in common with Grand Illusion, such as the ends of both films showing men slogging on through the coldness of life simply because they are men. Such commonalities, between men or works of art, are what give Grand Illusion its staying power, despite its manifest flaws. It may not be the deepest film ever made, and may not even be the best war film ever made, but it can properly be considered a classic, if only by some de facto `grandfather clause' for such works of art. It may not be what Renoir intended, but intent in the arts means nothing, only reality does, and Grand Illusion's is better than most.
September 11, 2008 | | "Borders are man-made. Nature couldn't care less" | |
It's incredible to me that I went over 50 years without seeing Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion," but such was the case until recently. The only consolation for all those missed opportunities to see one of the greatest films ever made is that I watched the Criterion edition, which took an old negative and, using the latest technology, turned it into a beautifully produced film.
The overriding impression from "Grand Illusion" is the absolute stupidity of war, as expressed in the lives of the three primary characters: Marechal (Jean Gabin), de Boieldieu (Pierre Fresney), and von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stronheim). De Boieldieu and von Rauffenstein represent the old way of thinking about war that sees it as a duel between gentlemen. It's an aristocratic, romantic notion that was literally shot to bits by the horror of the first world war, and it's entirely appropriate in Renoir's film that both men are destroyed by the very art, war-making, to which they've devoted their lives. Marechal represents the new way of thinking that came out of the trenches: war is a foolish, unnecessary conflict between artificial nation states. As Marechal says toward the film's end, nature couldn't care less about national borders.
The direction and acting in this film are extraordinary. Watching it, I couldn't help compare the sophistication of the acting with the cheesy, melodramatic, overdone style so common in Hollywood films of the same era.
Six stars. Don't wait half a century to see it.
August 28, 2008| | | THE GREAT WWI PRISON ESCAPE | |
The film itself is an amazing story but also the story of how the current print came to be. The Nazis stole the original print from the French as one of their first priorities at the beginning of WWII. It was considered 'Cinematographic Enemy Number One'. All showings later were from copies and pieced together with not so great quality. Decades later the original was found and is now the print used by Criterion, an almost perfect version with sharpness and clarity as if made yesterday. This is the prototype prison escape movie copied by many later. Not only a thrilling escape story but also the story of the end of the elite class in Europe. WWI was considered by many to be a 'gentleman's war' where honor and valor were still important and respected in your enemy. Remember the movie 'Silent Night' where they stopped the war on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Jesus together and resumed the war the following day. This is about a prison camp conducted by the Germans where it was assumed the French would not try to escape because they had given their word. It is certainly a different kind of war and a different kind of war story. I won't reveal the story but to say that this is a great film on several different levels and although it is B&W with subtitles it is worth watching. [...].
July 26, 2008 | | Retrospection on the Great War | |
This story is set in 1916. French soldiers are in a bar. Marechal is summoned to HQ for a mission to photograph the enemy lines. But they are shot down (off camera) and brought to the enemy officer's barracks for lunch. The war does not prevent formal manners. The officer prisoners are then sent to a POW camp. They receive packages of food to supplement their rations. Some of the prisoners are digging an escape tunnel. The details are shown; the same techniques will be used in the next war. There is a problem with getting fresh air into the tunnel. Dirt from the tunnel is dropped in the garden. The conversations tell about their characters. The prisoners put on a show for entertainment. "It's a long way to Tipperary." The news about a battle for Verdun causes the singing of the Marseillaise [as in "Casablanca"].
New orders arrive: the officers are to be moved to a new camp far behind the lines. Three are sent to an escape-proof castle. [Colditz?] The Commandant treats the prisoners with politeness. Soon they plan to escape to Switzerland. Is there a bond between the professional army officers who are of the nobility? There is a large Christmas package that contains a surprise! The guards do not like the music from the prisoners. A roll call creates a distraction. Boieldieu suffers for his distraction. Marechal and Rosenthal escape down the wall. They find shelter. The woman's husband, father, and brothers were all killed in the war - great victories. But they must continue on their journey to Switzerland. The grand illusion is that this will be the last war. You can compare this film to the POW films made after WW II.
In real life "Rosenthal" (Marcel Dalio) escaped to America and played a part in "Casablanca". After WW II the formation of two nearly equal alliances prevented another European war. This changed after 1990, and there was a war in the Balkans (as before WW I). [Reading subtitles detracts from watching the characters.]
June 16, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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