☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
La Grande Illusion (1937) -- J. Renoir
Jean Gabin and Pierre
Fresnay are shot down and placed in a German POW camp during WWI in Jean
Renoir's anti-war masterpiece. Beyond disputing
the idea that war can solve anything (the "Grand Illusion"), he makes
several related points along the way: 1)
class differences may be wider than national differences (but the upper classes
may serve no real purpose); 2) national boundaries are illusory (nature does
not recognize them); 3) Jews are just as
human and noble as other people (an important point to make in 1937); 4)
romance and friendships can easily exist across national, cultural, or
religious divides; 5) war is a damn waste of lives, time, etc. Why have we still not learned? Overall, the
film is also an enjoyable story of camraderie with nary a shot fired -- indeed,
from a contemporary perspective, this view of the experience of war is also
very likely to be illusory and yet it continues.
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