Grand Illusion (film)

• Release Date: 1937
• Director(s): Jean Renoir
• Writer(s): Jean Renoir ; Charles Spaak
• Principal Actors and Roles: Marcel Dalio (Lieutenant Rosenthal); Pierre Fresnay (Captain de Boeldieu); Jean Gabin (Lieutenant Maréchal); Erich Von Stroheim (Captain von Rauffenstein); Julian Carette (Cartier); Dita Parlo (Elsa)

Grand Illusion is a French film about World War I soldiers who try to escape from a German prisoner of war camp. The original title is La Grande Illusion, and the black-and-white film now has subtitles for those who do not understand French. Grand Illusion is generally considered to be one of the best films ever made.

This was director Jean Renoir’s twenty-first film but the first film to gain international success. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an admirer and the film enjoyed a long run in the United States. However, its pacifist, anti-war message caused it to be banned in Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Yugoslavia. When the Germans occupied France in World War II, they confiscated the film and it was thought to have been destroyed. However, the original negative was recovered in 1945 and the film was reissued in its original form in 1958.

There are many theories about the meaning of the film’s title. One popular one is that a war to end all wars is an illusion; another is that it is an illusion that prisoners can escape and find freedom. Renoir said he kept the title ambiguous on purpose.

It was only through the efforts of Jean Gabin, who played Maréchal, that Renoir was able to find funding after three years of searching. Gabin was the premier French film star of the day and helped look for backers.

Erich von Stroheim appears as the German von Rauffenstein in one of his greatest performances. Renoir allowed him to expand his limited role so that he appeared as the commandant at the final prison camp, and this led to the poignant relationship between the German von Rauffenstein and the French de Boeldieu.

Renoir based the film on his own war experiences, as well as on the experiences of many other war prisoners, whom he interviewed at length. He wrote the screenplay in conjunction with Charles Spaak, although the film changed immensely after Spaak made his contribution. A German army lieutenant was an advisor for the film.

The film was made between February and May 1937, and was shot in the Alsace region of France. The prisoners’ rooms are actual German-built military barracks.

Plot

During World War I, French Captain de Boeldieu and Lieutenant Maréchal fly out on a reconnaissance mission, but their plane is shot down by the German von Rauffenstein. When von Rauffenstein learns they are officers he invites them to lunch with his staff and everyone treats them with respect. A German officer helps the injured Maréchal cut his meat and von Rauffenstein discovers he is acquainted with de Boeldieu’s cousin.

The captain and lieutenant are taken to a German prisoner of war camp and help their fellow prisoners work on digging an escape tunnel. The guards treat them humanely and allow them to receive packages from home. A rich Jewish prisoner, Rosenthal, shares his food packages and many who were prejudiced against Jews change their minds.

The prisoners put on a vaudeville act and Maréchal interrupts with news that the French have taken Douaumont. The French prisoners cheer and sing their national anthem, "La Marseillaise." Maréchal is put into solitary confinement for causing the disturbance, and the others worry that they will have to escape without him. He is returned to the others but the prisoners are transferred to other camps before they can escape. Maréchal tries to tell a new prisoner about the tunnel, but he doesn’t understand French.

De Boeldieu, Maréchal, and Rosenthal end up at prison fortress in the mountains commanded by von Rauffenstein. Von Rauffenstein and de Boeldieu form a respectful friendship based on their class and social beliefs. Von Rauffenstein is surprised that commoners are officers in the French army but de Boeldieu says they are good officers. Their friendship does not stop de Boeldieu from volunteering to provide a distraction so Maréchal and Rosenthal can escape. Von Rauffenstein reluctantly shoots and kills de Boeldieu but the other two men escape. A German widow takes them in and Maréchal falls in love with her. When they leave, he says he will return after the war. A German border patrol shoots at them, but they cross safely into Switzerland.

Significance

Renoir is said to be one of the world’s greatest directors, and his vision, plus the performances he drew from the actors, are what make Grand Illusion one of the great films. The film is included as a frontrunner in debates about which is the greatest film ever made.

Grand Illusion sends a strong message about the connection between all people and their common humanity. It examines and exposes the human borders of race, ethnicity, and class. Renoir kept the film understated, and critics praise the artistry of the camerawork, which used long takes, without close-ups or cuts. Some even compare his style to that of his father, the Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, in the way that the camera leads the viewer through the scene. Claude Renoir, the director’s nephew, was the camera operator and later became a famous cinematographer.

A notable aspect of Grand Illusion is that, although it is a film about war, there are no battles, no scenes of the front, and little shooting. The prisoners’ attempts to escape tie the film together, but it is the relationships and how they play out, that is the important part of the film.

The film has been so influential that scenes from Grand Illusion have been echoed in later films. The Great Escape also has prisoners digging a tunnel and shaking out the dirt from their pants legs when they are outside for exercise. In Casablanca, singing "La Marseillaise" makes the Germans angry. The character of von Rauffenstein was most likely a large influence on the characters of the German commandants in the movie Stalag 17 and in the popular television show Hogan’s Heroes.

Grand Illusion was the first foreign film to be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture. It won the National Board of Review (NBR) award for best foreign film, as well as winning the New York Film Critics Circle award for best foreign language film. It won an award for best artistic ensemble at the Venice Film Festival.

Awards and nominations

Nominated

• Academy Award (1937) Best Picture

Bibliography

Cardullo, Bert. European Directors and Their Films: Essays on Cinema. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2012. Print.

Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. New York: Broadway, 2002. Print.

Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era through 1965. 2nd ed. London: Penguin, 2011. Print

Macdonald, Nicholas. In Search of La Grande Illusion: A Critical Appreciation of Jean Renoir’s Elusive Masterpiece. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. Print.

Phillips, Alastair, and Ginette Vincendeau. A Companion to Jean Renoir. Hoboken: Wiley, 2013. Print.

Schneider, Steven Jay. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Rev. ed. Hauppauge: Barron’s, 2013. Print.