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Reoir Portrays WWI As A French-German "Love-Fest" !!!


Overall, from a "straight", literal standpoint, Renoir's portrayal of a slice of WWI I in The Grand Illusion (1937) is totally unreal, even absurd. From start to finish, Renoir portrays all the characters as being very compassionate, & "understanding" with one another, even, & perhaps especially, in interactions between the supposed "enemies", the French & the Germans. There is just no way that French POW's in WWI, even officers, were given such comfortable quarters, not had their food packages from home confiscated or purposely "lost", & were treated with such politeness, courtesy, & even, in some cases, compassion by their German captors. The scenes toward the end of the film where the two escaped French POW's are taken in by a German housewife whose husband already died in the war & whose brothers are all at the front is even more bizarre. Come On!!! Why in the world would a woman harbor two POW's that are members of the very adversary that the males in her family are away fighting??? Give Me A Break!!!

The truth is that the "enemy" in EVERY war, either through deliberate government propaganda or through simple human nature, is DEMONIZED. Hence the American soldiers in Viet Nam who called their enemy *beep* Hence, the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. Hence, the relabeling of "Sauerkraut" as "Liberty Cabbage" during WWI.

But the point is that Renoir is not even trying to realistically portray French-German interactions in the German POW camp in The Grand Illusion. The point that Renoir seems to be making is that "enemy" labels & "enemy" caricatures that are so ubiquitous in EVERY war are mere human fabrications to obscure the humanity that is common to all of us as human beings. The oblique message in this film is that if ALL human beings ALWAYS treated each other with the same degree of humanity & compassion that the French & the Germans do in The Grand Illusion, there would simply be no wars. It is much easier to fire guns at & drop bombs on demonized stereotypes (such as the "Gerry" or the "Jap" of WWII) than to fire guns at & drop bombs on "human beings" who are just like us.

All of this begs the question however: "Why were the French POW's so damn intent on escaping in this film?" Or, perhaps more precisely "What the hell were they escaping from??" They were certainly not escaping from the "Club Med" like conditions that they were experiencing in this film. If anything, the relatively plush accommodations & overly humane treatment the French POW's by their German captors should have, in reality, motivated them to just wait out the war where they were!!!

In light of Renoir's apparently "humanitarian" message in this "anti-war" war film, the element of "escape" seems to be linked to a sense of "duty" in particular, & a sense of "patriotism", in general. It is imply the "duty" of any POW anywhere to attempt to escape. The linkage of "duty" to the more global concept of "patriotism" is also revealed in the French POW's singing of their national anthem during the talent show right after a French military victory was announced. This is the talent show which their German captors so generously allowed them not only to produce but which was attended by the German officers as well. Here, Renoir may be giving us a clue about what it is that turns people away from the simple humanity & compassion that binds them all together on an emotional & visceral level, that being "duty" & "patriotism". Just as a sense of duty & patriotism motivated the French POW's to "escape" the relatively humanitarian conditions of the POW camp, so too, Renoir seems to be telling us, it is a sense of "duty" & a sense of "patriotism" that causes regular citizens to "escape" the humanity that links & bonds all mankind & go to war, to go where they will treat fellow human beings with barbarous & murderous intent.

So, if my analysis is correct, for Renoir "the grand illusion" is, in reality, "patriotism" with its ever attendant sense of "duty". For it is this "grand illusion" of "patriotism" that obscures the reality of our common humanity & that justifies our "escape" into killing & maiming each other in war.

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All of this begs the question however: "Why were the French POW's so damn intent on escaping in this film?"


Because it it their duty as an officer and a gentleman!? Is it really so hard to understand?

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According to Renoir Franco-German relations between the two countries' officers were gentlemanly. You can see how much class is a part of the relationships as Rauffenstein feels more connection with Boeldieu than his German soldiers. Boeldieu in turn understands Rauffenstein's manners and his keeping a geranium in a place where only ivy and nettles grow.

Anyway, regarding illusions - there are many referred to in the film. I think war is the grandest of illusions but because of its prevalence in the film illusion is a trope that may refer to something more basic about humanity or life itself.

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.

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If you are still there! Do you think the movie is intentional "absurd" as you call it?

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"unreal and absurd" ?

Obviously we know more about the experience of WW1 than Renoir, and all the people who worked on the film, and all the people who saw it at the time.

The film is an invitation to have a different view on things. Apparently some people are very attached to their prejudices : binary and simplistic thinking is so much easier.
Granted, this is not basic Hollywood treatment, where everything would conform to conformity.

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