It would seem only appropriate these days that I should write a review on a war film. Jean Renoir's classic 1937 POW drama is considered to be one of the great anti-war films. I'm not sure that this can really be classified as a war film, let alone an anti-war film since it takes place far away from the battlefields. There are no speeches about the waste of war or anything like that. What we do get is a touching and insightful drama into how several French prisoners of war interact with each other and their German captors. There are no real bad guys in Renoir's film.

The year is 1916. World War I has been going on for nearly two years now. What military leaders had been promising would be a quick war in which everyone would be home for Christmas (yeah, right) has turned into a nightmarish stalemate of trench warfare. Off in the German countryside away from all the fighting, two French pilots are shot down. They are Lieutenant Marechal (Jean Gabin) and Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay). The German commander von Rauffenstein, being a decent and sympathetic man, invites the two French officers for lunch before shipping them off. Von Rauffenstein firmly (and somewhat naively) believes in the concept of a "gentleman's war." Von Rauffenstein will figure prominently throughout the film.

Marechal and de Boeldieu are transported to a prisoner-of-war camp inside Germany. There they are united with a number of other French soldiers, including Lt. Rosenthal. How the French soldiers and German soldiers interact is very interesting.

The French and the Germans seem to regard each other with respect, even friendliness. They chat with each other, and even joke. When a French prisoner is put into solitary confinement for disobeying orders, the German guard shows compassion by offering him a harmonica to give him something to do. Yet the friendship between the French and the Germans only goes so far. In a key scene, Rosenthal goes out to check out the noise outside and finds that a French soldier has been shot dead for trying to escape. In another, a stage play put on by the French is interrupted when it's learned that the Germans have re-taken Douaumont. The French respond by singing the French national anthem, while the Germans sing "The Fatherland."

Despite their outward appearance of complacency, the French know it is their duty to try to escape. Several French soldiers take the time to, bit by bit, dig a tunnel under their room. This is where the film comes to resemble "The Great Escape" a little bit, even though that film was based on a real incident that took place during World War Two. Still, I wonder if the people who made that film saw this one first. Probably not, since the differences outway the similarities. Jean Renoir's film is more about character interaction than about escapes.

Just as the tunnel is nearing completion and the French are getting ready to make a break, they are informed that they are to be transferred. The French are to leave the camp to be replaced by a group of British prisoners. De Boeldieu can't even communicate to the British commander about the tunnel they have so laboured to dig. So much for that.

After being transported by train, the French prisoners including the trio of de Boeldieu, Marechal, and Rosenthal find themselves in a heavily guarded castle. German commander Von Rauffenstein boasts that there is no way anyone can hope to escape. But the French trio have other ideas...

Much has been made on this film about what Renoir has to say about class and rank. I admit, I wasn't paying too close attention while watching, but upon looking back I did notice some things. For instance, there is the relationship between Marechal and Rosenthal. Marechal is a tough working-class type and an anti-semite. Rosenthal is an upper-class Jewish accountant. Needless to say, there are some fireworks between them when they escape together. Rosenthal has sprained his ankle while escaping and is dependent on Marechal to help him along, something Marechal resents. But with only each other to depend on, Rosenthal and Marechal must learn to overcome their differences if they are to make it across the border to Switzerland.

Another interesting relationship is that between the French commander de Boeldieu and German commander von Rauffenstein. The two of them both recognize that whoever wins this war, their time is past once they take off their uniform. Von Rauffenstein, who was once involved in combat, is now reduced to commanding a POW prison due to a spinal injury he received. As the two talk together civilly, one senses that there are more similarities between the two of them than differences. In another life, they would be friends. Yet both are bound to their duty, something that will lead to tragedy when the French stage a prison break and bon Rauffenstein must fulfill his job.

The second part of the film deals with Rosenthal's and Marechal's escape towards the border. Unable to continue on due to Rosenthal's injury, the two are forced to take refuge in a barn. There, they are discovered by a German woman who lives alone with her little girl. Instead of turning them in, Elsa shows compassion for the French escapees and invites them to stay until Rosenthal recovers.

Elsa has her reasons for her actions. Her husband and all of her sons were killed in the war, leaving her lonely and bitter. Elsa notes that her family were killed participating in some of the great campaigns, "Our greatest victories," she notes wryly. Elsa has no illusions about the glories of war as she has made the ultimate sacrifice for the war effort. Suddenly with company in the house, it feels like her family has returned from the dead. The four of them will form a brief close-knit happy family away from all the horror and destruction of the Great War. Rosenthal and Elsa's daughter will form a father-daughter relationship while Marechal and Elsa have an affair. The void in Elsa's and Marechal's life has been filled. This is my favourite part of the film.

Yet eventually reality sets in, and Marechal and Rosenthal must resume their escape to the border, leaving Elsa alone with her daughter again. Marechal promises Elsa that he will return for her when the war is over. Marechal is assuming of course that he will be alive to come back for her.

"Grand Illusion" is indeed a great classic from a great director. Here we have a film that deals not with the tragedy of the physical destruction of war, but rather the destruction that war causes to relationships. The French and the Germans seem to be otherwise good people, if only they weren't wearing different uniforms. The filming was timely; it couldn't have escaped Renoir's attention that "Grand Illusion" was being made at a time that France and Germany were once again preparing to go to war in a conflict that would surpass even the first war. It seems a miracle really that this film avoided being destroyed by the Nazis during the occupation. Reportedly, the original print was thought lost for years as it changed hands from Germans to Russians. Now it has been restored, and is available on a great Criterion DVD with remarkable clarity.

See it.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older