Grand Illusion Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: La Grande Illusion
Year: 1937
Director: Jean Renoir
Country: France
Language: French

Grand Illusion is one of French Cinema's finest films. It brought Jean Renoir massive acclaim from the United States, even President Franklin D. Roosevelt gazed at the picture in admiration. Made a few years before the start of WWII, Illusion travels back to the previous World War, a war that Renoir claims was “based on fair play, a war without atom bombs or torture." Renoir succeeds in showing the humanity of both sides, during a time when the axis seemed sub-human.

During the First World War, two French soldiers are captured and imprisoned in a German POW camp. Several escape attempts follow until they are sent to a seemingly impenetrable fortress which seems impossible to escape from.

Grand Illusion transcends the tight confines of the war genre. There are no trenches, rarely a gun is shot and there are no battle sequences. The accident of war appears to bring out the best of POW's and their captors, who in peacetime would be strangers to one another. Men on both sides subscribed to the same code of behavior, no deaths are unjustified slaughters. This old European order died in the trenches, as the Nazis were not so civilized.

The "grand illusion" in Renoir's title does not refer to the POW prison escape attempts, but rather the illusion that somehow the upper class are above warfare. German Commandant Von Rauffenstein (Erich Von Stroheim) is absolutely shocked that his prisoners attempt to escape, especially when aristocratic De Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) gives him his word that they will not. For an enemy Rauffenstein is a rather commendable fellow. Deluded by romantic notions of chivalry and friendship, the Commandant makes for a touching character.

Grand Illusion ran for 26 weeks in New York, but was banned by Mussolini in Italy and Goebbels in Germany. Goebbels would declare it "Cinematic Public Enemy No. 1,” ordering the original negative seized. The print would then move along borders, out of reach of Nazi hands. However, it was eventually assumed that the negative was destroyed by an ally air raid in 1942. In the 60's Renoir worked to "restore" his film, but efforts would prove futile. The original negative, meanwhile, was captured by Russians as they occupied Berlin and shipped to an archive in Moscow. The world would wait 30 years after it's premiere for a proper print that looks and sounds crisp and clear.

In conclusion, while Rules of the Game is considered another Renoir masterpiece, I feel that Grand Illusion has aged better. It is incredibly suspenseful and truly mesmerizing. His sympathy for every character stuck in this terrible war fills every shot, not a frame is without passion for his fellow man. Praise it! 5/5