La Grande Illusion Review

30th Mar 2012

April will see the 75th anniversary release of Jean Renoir’s classic 1937 film La Grande Illusion at the cinema, on DVD and Blu-ray. The story is a classic POW drama. It follows the aristocratic aviator Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay), his mechanic lieutenant, the blue collar Maréchal (played by the French heart throb Jean Gabin) and the former Jewish banker combatant Rosenthal (Dalio) who continually plot their escape from various POW camps and attempt to undermine their German captors in the process during WWI. They are finally imprisoned in a large castle by the aristocratic Prussian officer Von Rauffenstein (played by that classic Prussian officer type Erich Von Stroheim who would later go on to play Gloria Swanson’s butler in Sunset Boulevard). There Boeldieu builds up a friendship with Von Rauffenstein and the pair share their gentlemanly aristocratic values, both aware of their individual duties. But when Maréchal and Rosenthal eventually escape and hide out in the farm of a German woman (Dita Parlo), Maréchal is eventually humanised by the love of another woman, albeit German.

The key to the films critical success are its subtle political undertones. There are clear class conflicts going on between the characters of Boeldieu and Maréchal with the aristocrat finding common interest and respect with a German fellow aristocrat which surpasses national boundaries. Throughout (as with many POW films) xenophobic baiting between the French, the Russians, the Brits and of course the Germans is commonplace. When the French sing ‘La Marseillaise’ following the capture of Fort Douaumont during the Battle of Verdun is particularly antagonistic towards the Germans (and on its release and later the Nazis). For Maréchal these national boundaries are broken down with his relationship with the widowed German farm girl and between them they are unable to communicate with language. The films title is also revealing as ‘La Grande Illusion’ alludes to the allusion of war winning anything and the illusion that this could never happen again, a particularly poignant and ironic message given the international tensions in Europe at the time.

When compared to other POW films such as The Colditz Story (1955) or The Great Escape (1963) one can see how this pre-WWII is not only way ahead of its time, but a highly advanced and politically subtle interpretation of nationhood, class, pride and war. The films anti-war theme comes from Jean Renoir’s own experiences as an aviator in WWI (star Jean Gabin wore Renoir’s own uniform in the film) in which he was terribly wounded. Its basic message is that war is futile, debases people and economically pointless. Needless to say taken in the context of when the film was made when France was completing the building of the Maginot Line to protect itself from German invasion for a third time in 60 years and less than 20 years after WWI and Hitler was making war noises in Nazi Germany then this film was a powerful indictment. Needless to say that after the Nazis invaded and occupied France the film was banned and Renoir was considered the enemy and the film was banned; by this time Renoir had already made his way to Hollywood. The original negative was then considered lost in a bombing raid, though it had actually been taken by the Nazis where it was kept in a vault in Berlin. On its release La Grande Illusion was a huge success and was yet another critical success for Renoir (the son of the Impressionist painter). The director also wrote the script and struggled to get it made and brought to the screen until the casting of Gabin ensured its box-office draw in France. The casting of Von Stroheim was another coup for Renoir as he had made many great appearances in Hollywood’s bigger productions in the silent 1920s; indeed the role was pretty much written for Stroheim. Since the end of the war it has grown in stature and has rightfully been given the status it deserves and given a 75th anniversary release.

The film has been greatly cleaned up and benefits from the clean up from its original nitrate print. The result is a pristine transfer showing the film in all its glory with hardly a crack, a pop or scratch on the film that has been taken from its original nitrate negative. Anyone who has not seen this film will enjoy a film that was way ahead of its time which focuses on camaraderie unlike any other film that precedes and became the model on which all future POW dramas would be based.