The greatest film of all times. Jean Renoir's masterpiece is a superbly directed comedy that perfectly captures the moral "malaise" of the French society at the eve of World War II. The first part of the film takes place in Paris, where the main characters are introduced. They include the Marquis de la Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio), his wife Christine, her lover Andre and her maid Lisette. There is also Octave (Jean Renoir) - Christine's childhood friend, Lisette's former lover and the friend of both Marquis and Andre. This complex situation is further complicated when everyone is invited by the Marquis to spend a few days in his sumptous palace in the country. After a rabbit hunt, there is a magnificent reception and the film comes to a magnificent climax with guests chasing one another across the palace, while several intrigues unfold simultaneously. Renoir uses a mobile camera to mingle among the characters. Because of this technique, the viewer feels like one of the guests. In one especially remarkable shot, the camera pans across an audience watching a play. It slowly moves from one group to another, making a 180" angle and revealing various activities of different characters taking place simultaneously. Several meticulously arranged scenes show one character chasing another and bumping into a third (who's himself chased by a fourth while dragging a fifth along with him!)
March 19, 1970
La Règle du jeu (1939) *****
The greatest film of all times. Jean Renoir's masterpiece is a superbly directed comedy that perfectly captures the moral "malaise" of the French society at the eve of World War II. The first part of the film takes place in Paris, where the main characters are introduced. They include the Marquis de la Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio), his wife Christine, her lover Andre and her maid Lisette. There is also Octave (Jean Renoir) - Christine's childhood friend, Lisette's former lover and the friend of both Marquis and Andre. This complex situation is further complicated when everyone is invited by the Marquis to spend a few days in his sumptous palace in the country. After a rabbit hunt, there is a magnificent reception and the film comes to a magnificent climax with guests chasing one another across the palace, while several intrigues unfold simultaneously. Renoir uses a mobile camera to mingle among the characters. Because of this technique, the viewer feels like one of the guests. In one especially remarkable shot, the camera pans across an audience watching a play. It slowly moves from one group to another, making a 180" angle and revealing various activities of different characters taking place simultaneously. Several meticulously arranged scenes show one character chasing another and bumping into a third (who's himself chased by a fourth while dragging a fifth along with him!)
