MovieChat Forums > La grande illusion (1938) Discussion > I am stupid

I am stupid

posted 11 years ago by dailyshampoo48
9 replies | jump to latest

I can never get through more than the first twenty minutes of this film. I always end up falling asleep. I like listening to the dialogue, though. It reminds me of some people who I used to know who were very old several years ago, and may now be dead.

I can't help comparing 'Grand Illusion' to Billy Wilder's 'Stalag 17'. Except that 'Stalag' is interesting and has snappy dialogue. Or maybe I don't speak French that good. Yeah, that must be it.

I read the reviews people posted, and I feel like I picked up on 'the point' of this movie within the first ten minutes or so. Or maybe you all got a lot more out of it than I did. Or maybe this is one of those movies that you have to stick through to the end. I've never been much good at that, and I've made several honest attempts with this one already.

Dear fans, please tell me what I am missing. Why is 'Grand Illusion' so amazing? Because, this is the kind of film which I should really, really like, and yet I don't. I'm so confused. Please help.

[–] franzkabuki 11 years ago

Is this a joke?

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] dailyshampoo48 11 years ago

are you a joke?

[–] JellyFish19 11 years ago

Sadly I'm in the same boat. Love movies like Stalag 17, The Great Escape, Down by the Law etc., but this has got to be the most uninvolving war/prison-escape movie I ever saw. I couldn't care what happened to any of those forgettable characters, the last 20 minutes get somewhat better, but by this point, it's not saying much.

[–] luchadordeveracruz 10 years ago

Give it a try. It gets better. I know because the first time I felt the same as you. It's a very touching movie.

[–] giverny98 10 years ago

Do what I did. I DVR'd it and watched it in 20-30 minute chunks. Because I have to read the subtitles carefully, it takes more time and effort to watch a movie such as this. But it's worth getting through.

[–] bootblack987 10 years ago

I watched about 15 minutes of it, then set it aside to come back to. Second viewing I made it through another 20 minutes. Third viewing I finished the first hour. Just didn't care for the story, the characters or anything else about it. I kept telling myself to finish it, but decided I just wasn't enjoying it for any part of the story, any of the performances, the cinematography...anything. So I gave up.

[–] Kinokima 9 years ago

I think the problem is you are comparing it to movies it is not trying to be anything like. It is POW escape movie only in its setting. Its also partially an anti-war movie one incredibly with not a single scene of the "horrors of war". Ultimately though it is a humanist film perhaps the greatest humanist film.

If you ever watch the film again pay attention to the relationships between the many different characters. Pay attention to their differences (in class, nationality, and religion) but how their humanity ultimately
brings them together.

It's not a film with many exciting scenes. Instead it's a film that sneaks up on you with its beauty and it is never heavy handed with its themes.

Don't get me wrong I adore both Great Escape and Stalag 17. To me they are two of the best POW films (a genre I am quite fond of) but this movie is something else and very special for it.

[–] matt72582 8 years ago

It's like saying the girl on the street is ugly and without personality because you didn't like the "sole" of her shoes.

[–] Pencho15 8 years ago

Added to all your comments, it should be noted the film was released just before World War Two, everyone knew another war was coming, and there wasn't much oposition, and in this context this movie came to say we could all live peacefully, a revolutionary message in a dark time that unfortunately went unnoticed.

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