And now it looks like I'll be heading down a Jean Renoir rabbit hole. It's not as if I haven't seen a number of Jean Renoir films, but there's so much more to explore and experience. Last night I re-watched his 1939 classic The Rules of the Game. It often tops the list of greatest Jean Renoir films, and I do think I like it even more every time I see it (which is saying a lot). That said, I have trouble imagining that I'd ever pick it over Grand Illusion. The Rules of the Game is a devastating satire of the idiocy and shallowness of the French upper classes, which are focusing on all the wrong things as World War II looms and their world is collapsing around them. Renoir himself plays a key role as Octave, and it was a treat to see him act in his own movie. Nora Gregor (as Christine, Marquise de la Chesnaye) and Marcel Dalio (as her husband Robert - I was just singing his praises the other day when I was writing about Grand Illusion) are the shallow, disaffected nobles who drive the story forward, although Paulette Dubost (as the maid Lisette) steals the show. I also recognized Julien Carette, who played Marceau, from Grand Illusion. Essential viewing.
No comments:
Post a Comment