"Grand Illusion" (Film Review)
September 5th 2008 15:28
Grand Illusion is one of the best anti-war films because it makes its statement not by clichéd speeches as the rising action nears a bloody climax, but through the characters’ very real relationships with each other; in other words, this black-and-white French film about World War One, shot a few years before World War Two started in Europe, is far from “preachy.” At this point in the paragraph, some readers may be turned off by the facts in the last sentence: French language, black-and-white, not “preachy” (am I wrong in assuming that peoples’ positive response to propaganda explains its ubiquity?); however, the film’s acting and direction are so good that those who usually fear subtitles and shades of grey won’t have a problem appreciating the film’s fresh vision. This is not just one of those films that is silly today, but is “great considering when and where it comes from;” Grand Illusion is not dated.
As in many great war movies, Grand Illusion points out the absurdity of war. When the Germans shoot down a French plane, they invite the two survivors to lunch—complete with a special punch that is rushed into production for the occasion. While the absurdities of war are displayed, respect is still given to the reality of patriotism and attraction associated with the martial side of life. The movie follows the two downed Frenchmen through prison-of-war camps as they themselves try to get though these prisoner-of-war camps—boiled down to its blurby essence, it’s an escape movie. But it’s so much more. One of the unlucky French fliers is an aristocrat in an age where aristocrats are as endangered as the Czar’s grip on power; there are times when he has more in common with the aristocratic German commandant of the escape-proof prison he lands in than his fellow POW’s. His fellow POW’s are an interesting assortment of individuals, representing the in-group vs. out-group dynamic that leads to violence both between nations and within them; the film is a brilliant examination of violence and defense based on both the things that keep us apart and the things that bring us together—such as religion, language, class, nationality, and the possession of bread, circuses, and trenches.
$$$$ = You need to own the DVD.
As in many great war movies, Grand Illusion points out the absurdity of war. When the Germans shoot down a French plane, they invite the two survivors to lunch—complete with a special punch that is rushed into production for the occasion. While the absurdities of war are displayed, respect is still given to the reality of patriotism and attraction associated with the martial side of life. The movie follows the two downed Frenchmen through prison-of-war camps as they themselves try to get though these prisoner-of-war camps—boiled down to its blurby essence, it’s an escape movie. But it’s so much more. One of the unlucky French fliers is an aristocrat in an age where aristocrats are as endangered as the Czar’s grip on power; there are times when he has more in common with the aristocratic German commandant of the escape-proof prison he lands in than his fellow POW’s. His fellow POW’s are an interesting assortment of individuals, representing the in-group vs. out-group dynamic that leads to violence both between nations and within them; the film is a brilliant examination of violence and defense based on both the things that keep us apart and the things that bring us together—such as religion, language, class, nationality, and the possession of bread, circuses, and trenches.
$$$$ = You need to own the DVD.
French, Germans, War, Peace, etc., etc.
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