Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion (1937) is a film about French soldiers locked up in a German prison during the First World War. The film deals with class issues as soldiers from the poor to the rich have to get along in the same cell. The dense narrative is interesting and its pace is almost lyrical with scenes coming and going. Renoir manages to create and explore a cast of fascinating characters in a surprisingly vivid way even though there is not much time for that.
The film's form is nothing spectacular, but it works very well. It captures the crazy pace of the film in a relatively calm way (which is fitting though). The black and white photography is beautiful to look at and even though the music is a bit over the top, it works quite well.
The Grand Illusion is an intriguing film even though I don't understand why it has received as much praise as it has over the years.
Score: 9 out of 10
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