106. La Grande Illusion/Grand Illusion (1937)

Running Time: 114 minutes
Directed By: Jean Renoir
Written By: Jean Renoir, Charles Spaak
Main Cast: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Marcel Dalio, Erich von Stroheim, Dita Parlo

POSSIBLY JEAN RENOIR'S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT

Probably Jean Renoir's most popular movie, "La Grande Illusion" takes a look at a group of soldiers imprisoned in a POW camp, during World War I and the day to day life that they face as prisoners for the enemy.

During a routine flight, pilots: Captain de Boeldieu (Fresnay) and Lieutenant Marechal (Gabin) are shot down by Captain von Rauffenstein (von Stroheim). They aren't seriously injured and after they are recovered they are invited in to have a meal with von Rauffenstein. They are then taken and placed into a POW camp where they meet and befriend several of their fellow frenchmen. At this point the film gets pretty simple, just examining the day to day perils that the men must face while contained in the camp. However, the perils are few and far between and thanks to their new friend Rosenthal, a very wealthy, french, Jewish man, they are kept well fed, by the packages that he receives from home. They're also never really abused or mistreated or even talked down to by the German officers, as they are officers in their military and thus given proper respect for that position. When de Boeldieu and Marechal get extra chummy with their new found friends, they are let in on the fact that the other men have begun work on a tunnel, digging at night underneath their floorboards and exposing of the dirt in the courtyard. They plan an escape, that will bring them up, just outside the fences and allow them to free themselves from the German enslavement.

On the day that the men decide to break loose, they are informed that they will be moved to another camp, and all hopes of escape are dashed in an instant. de Boeldieu and Marechal move from camp to camp, finally settling down at Wintersborn, where they find their old "pal" Rauffenstein in charge, decked out in white gloves and a complete spine brace. Their friend Rosenthal joins them soon after as well, and the three quickly begin to hatch escape plots. Captain de Boeldieu comes up with the idea to cause a commotion, causing all the guards to call for an assembly and at that point the escape will be executed. However, he thinks that the plan will only work for two and insists that Marechal and Rosenthal be the two to make the bust.

This film shows first class how well Renoir was at moving his camera. He had a fine talent for capturing simple things on film and transforming them into gorgeous shots, and capturing gorgeous scenery on film and turning into breathtaking shots. Some of the shots of the mountains and trees and snow banks, are absolutely stunning and you could get lost in this film, by staring at the imagery alone. The plot alone is fine as well, and I myself am a sucker for a good prison flick and this is basically just that. I love seeing how strangers, thrown together and contained in a place, forced to interact with one another, cope with it all and this film is a great example of how all of that plays out. Jean Gabin is great as Marechal and has a soft spoken, subtle element to his character, that makes him that much more fascinating, as his character always seems to be in deep thought. I was surprised to see Erich von Stroheim show back up, as the last time I watched this film, I didn't even really know who von Stroheim was. He played a great role as well, commanding the screen when he was on it and calling power to his character, but still being able to play the politeness card and pulling it all off very nicely.

RATING: 7/10 As I've said before, I'm not big on war movies, but this one is more than a war film and gets my seal of approval, for sure.

NEXT UP: Stella Dallas...I'll be right back with an "unfound entry" for this one.

February 17, 2010 2:23am