Week Nineteen: La Grande Illusion (1937)

Director: Jean Renoir

Producer: Albert Pinkovitch and Frank Rollmer

Writers: Jean Renoir and Charles Speak

Cinematographer: Christian Matras

Music: Joseph Kosma

Starring: Jean Gabin (Lt. Maréchal), Marcel Dalio (Lt. Rosenthal), Pierre Fresnay (Capt. De Boeldieu), Erich von Stroheim (Major von Rauddenstein), Dita Parlo (Elsa)

Before You Watch the Movie
(First make sure you have read the introduction to this series)

Though America and Hollywood will always be most associated with movies, the medium was born in France, the “cinématographe” invented by the Lumière brothers. The biggest figures in the early days of cinema - Georges Méliès, the Pathé brothers, and Léon Gaumont – were all French. Given its origin then, it is not surprising that the French took movies very seriously: instead of seeing them as entertainment like Hollywood did, they saw film as an art, a poetic expression of self. France’s heavy involvement in World War I slowed the industry down considerably, but by the late-twenties/early-thirties, they were bouncing back at the hands of renowned directors like Jean Vigo, Luis Buñuel, Marcel Carné, Jacques Freyder, Germaine Dulac, René Clair, and the most famous French director of their period, Jean Renoir.

If the name Renoir is familiar, that is because Jean is the son of famous impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Even if you haven’t heard of the elder Renoir, you most likely have seen some of his paintings.

Two Sisters (1881)

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galetta (1876)

A Girl with a Watering Can (1876)

When serving in the French cavalry during World War I, Jean Renoir was shot in the leg and wounded. During his long recovery period, Renoir watched many films, including those by Hollywood filmmakers like Griffith and Chaplin, and fell in love with movies. Chaplin especially would be an important influence on Renoir, who often blended laughter and tears. Renoir himself called Chaplin the greatest of all directors. After returning to the war as a reconnaissance pilot, Renoir began directing films in 1924, eventually ascending to the status of the premier filmmaker in France.

Jean Renoir was a reconnaissance pilot during World War I, like two of his characters. 

No matter how much success he had, Renoir never gave up his personal style of filmmaking. Renoir’s visual style features prominent use of deep-focus photography (that is, both the foreground and background are in focus), and longer takes made possible through the moving of the camera. Renoir follows characters as they move and talk, even leaving one room and entering another without a cut. His sets were often built so that the camera could move freely. Often the camera will move freely around a room where people are talking, going from face to face.

In this scene the camera moves back and forth around the table, capturing a conversation in one take.

This builds immersion into Renoir’s style, a naturalism devoid of stylization emphasized through on-location shooting and a lack of fantastical or unnatural elements. However, Renoir doesn’t film in a documentary style either, but something different and more vivid but still grounded. It manages to look fantastic without indulging in overly artistic shots or flights of visual fancy.

Renoir's style...

...features extensive use of deep focus...

...and produces beautiful yet naturalistic results.

Renoir was both a writer and director of tremendous nuance, his films often lack a straightforward villain and he doesn’t judge his characters. In one of his most famous films, La Regle de jeu (1939), Renoir satirizes the upper class’ attitudes prior to World War II, burying their heads in the sand at best and welcoming Fascism at worst, but never paints the characters as wholly evil but empathizes with them instead. Rarely, as in life, is one of Renoir’s characters either wholly right or wrong and the context of their decisions matter greatly. This objective humanism crops up often in Renoir’s work, including one of his most well-regarded films, La Grande Illusion, released in America as The Grand Illusion.

The impetus behind making La Grande Illusion for Renoir was the disturbing trend he saw developing in Europe, of extreme nationalism, particular the Nazi party and Italian fascists. La Grande Illusion uses World War I as a way to critique the nationalist and fascist dogma during the lead-up to what would eventually be World War II. In doing this, Renoir would return to themes that appear often in his film including class and prejudice spun together to create a movie that is not just anti-war but pro-humanity.

Incidentally, Renoir was successful: copies of La Grande Illusion were banned and destroyed as Nazi propaganda minister dubbed it "Cinematic Public Enemy Number 1."

You can rent La Grande Illusion from Amazon

After You Watch the Film (Spoilers Below)

One of Renoir’s most common themes is that of class, something that lies front and center in La Grande Illusion. All three of the main French characters come from different classes: Maréchal of the lower or middle class; Rosenthal is nouveau riche, wealthy but not of the aristocracy, and Boelidieu is upper class, an aristocrat. 

Their differences are obvious and can also be seen through the way they are treated by others, especially Rauffenstein, also an aristocrat. Rauffenstein clearly favors fellow aristocrat Boelideu and makes a much deeper connection with him. They speak formally to one another, reminisce about past upper-class doings, and even talk occasionally in English, a language that the less educated, lower class men wouldn’t understand. 

Because they operate in a small, elite level of society they have more in common with each other than they do with their countrymen, despite being on opposite sides of a war, highlighting the fact that the extreme nationalism being preached by fascists is phony. Having the same nationality doesn’t automatically equate to any level of similarity. People are connected by much deeper bonds than the country they were born in and humanity survives through focusing on the similarities that cross race, nationality, and religion as opposed to the differences that divide. 

Despite being on other sides of a war...

...or part of an army that killed much of your family, kindness overcomes differences

However, not all the characters in the film are able to look past differences, even among their own people. Rosenthal, a jew, faces anti-semitism from his compatriots and captors alike, despite the fact that he is generous and kind. Likewise, a black prisoner is similarly treated with contempt and indifference. Also, Rauffenstein and to a lesser extent Boelideu look down upon those in the lower class. 

Rosenthal's generosity flies in the face of the anti-semitic stereotype of the miserly jew

Even the heroes of the film are guilty of prejudice at times.

However, in spite of differences of class, wealth, and religion, Maréchal, Rosenthal, and Boelidieu do develop a bond and the latter sacrifices himself so that the others can escape. Their differences might seem insurmountable at first, but their shared human experiences change that. 

Even after being shot, Boelidieu thinks of his friends, checking his watch to see if he gave them enough time

Renoir emphasizes the bonding of the prisoners from all backgrounds and social classes throughout the film, frequently grouping the characters together in medium shots. The preparation and execution of the stage show, running parallel with their escape attempt, is especially important in the development of their camaraderie.

Medium shots of characters together gives the impression of camaraderie 

The themes of both class and prejudice serve to point out not only the ridiculousness of nationalism but also the pointlessness of war. When Maréchal says that they must end the war and make it last, Rosenthal speaks for the filmmakers when he says “What an illusion!” The grand illusion of the film’s title is that war solves anything or that there could ever be a “war to end all wars,” as World War I was optimistically once called, though in 1937 it was fairly obvious that it was not the case. Even the film’s one seemingly patriotic moment is tinged with futility: when the prisoners sign “La Marseillaise” after learning that the French have taken Fort Douaumont is undercut after Maréchal, who had been imprisoned because of the singing of the song, is released and discovers that the French had already lost the fort back to the Germans. All for naught. Later in the film, the futility of war is reiterated when Elsa recounts all the battles her family members were killed at, supposedly great victories for Germany but at a tremendous cost of human life, with as many as 460,000+ Germans killed in those four battles alone. For Maréchal and Rosenthal, they escape months upon months of imprisonment, only to potentially be sent right back to the front where they are more likely than not to die. Even Boelideu’s great act of heroism and his friend’s perseverance could be made futile and get completely swept away by the war.

Elsa's family, all killed by the war in German "victories"

Even if they escape, a return to the front means a high likelihood of death

La Grande Illusion isn’t just anti-war, it is also against the romanticizing of war. It is a war film in which there is no fighting and the only action, the shooting of Boelidieu, is tragic. Boelideu and Rauffenstein themselves are tragic figures, representative of the past view of “gentlemanly warfare.” Neither man has a place in the new world and Boelideu is satisfied that he attains a “good way out” for an aristocrat, trading the loss of his own life for the glory that gentleman-soldiers sought. 

Despite all the strong themes and messages in the film, La Grande Illusion never seems preachy or self-important nor does it draw attention to what it is trying to say, instead it just says it in a way that is impossible to miss yet subtle at the same time. This is a testament to Renoir’s ability as a director and his ability to present flaws in his characters without judging them. The majority of “message” pictures, particularly those made during World War II, completely lack Renoir’s delicate touch and are instead heavy-handed at best and propagandistic at worst. La Grande Illusion is entertainment that contains untold depths of meaning and significance, intelligently told and deeply personal. Hollywood had made such films and would again, but La Grande Illusion is a step above even the best of those. This is significant because the film was a big hit in America and even garnered a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Foreign films weren’t always easy to see in America, but even the average person could see La Grande Illusion, including filmmakers both present and future. Therefore, much more so than the average foreign film, La Grande Illusion was an exponentially greater influence on American film and a turning point towards more personal, socially conscious filmmaking.

See Also

La Regle de jeu aka The Rules of the Game (1939) dir. Jean Renoir

One of Renoir’s best and most famous films, a satirical dark comedy about the state of France right before the start of World War II. Was reviled and eventually banned at the time of its release but was eventually rediscovered and regarded as one of the best films ever made.

La Bête humaine (1938) aka The Human Beast dir. Jean Renoir

A dark film about a man (played by Jean Gabin) who is at times unable to control his violent passion. A very dark and gritty film that influenced film noir.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) dir. Lewis Milestone

One of Hollywood’s most famous anti-war pictures, Milestone’s classic epic World War I story is still powerful today. It was the gold standard for anti-war films until La Grande Illusion.

This Land is Mine (1943) dir. Jean Renoir

After being forced to flee France when the Nazis invaded, Renoir came to Hollywood and one of the films he directed there was This Land is Mine about life in occupied Europe with Renoir’s signature ability to be both critical and fair.

Le Quai des brumes aka Port of Shadows (1938) dir. Marcel Carné

Another film starring Jean Gabin that was a precursor to film noir, Le Quai des brumes is dark and tragic yet also beautiful. Carné was a leading figure in France during the thirties and made one of the country’s most famous films, Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) in France under Nazi occupation.   

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