Son of famed French artist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jean Renoir is considered one of the best film directors of all-time. Although he was born in an era when idiots roamed the earth, unable to communicate properly though the use of mobile satellite devices, Jean managed to make some pretty great films.
Now when it comes to French films, there are several that I really like. I like Amélie, The Grande Illusion (another Renoir film), and just about any movie starring Marion Cotillard, especially her epic performance in the Edith Piaf biopic: La Vie en Rose.
But The Rules of the Game steals the show. This film was banned in France, during the German occupation, and was considered to be ‘immoral’ by Hitler’s fucked up standards. Rules of the Game is about a demented French ruling class, human depravity, honor or lack thereof, and filmed in a manner that was considered to be revolutionary back then, considering that it was done in an ‘era of idiots’ who didn’t even have computers, plastic water bottles or cable tv.
One side note, at the time, lead actor Marcel Dalio was an up and coming star in France. However, due to the Nazi invasion and subsequent murder of French jews under Hitler directives, Marcel was forced to escape France for America, where his career withered and died. He did, however, manage to weasel his way into Bogart’s epic film Casablanca, paid $667 for his troubles.
The entire move is below, courtesy of youtube.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M21zSPlgi10
Comments »