Daily Movie Rec 4/26/2023
Grand Illusion (1937)
"Neither you nor I can stop the march of time."
Directed by: Jean Renoir
Cinematography by: Christian Matras
Country: France
Plot:
As WWI rages, a group of French POWs concoct escape attempts at a German camp.
Reasons to watch:
It may seem a bit mellow by today’s standards, but Renoir’s unwaveringly class-conscious, humanist anti-war film about commoners sticking together regardless of ethnic background was powerful enough back then for Franklin Roosevelt to deem it as an essential watch and Joseph Goebbels to declare Renoir as “Cinematic Public Enemy Number 1.” The film would be banned in Italy and Nazi Germany, and Goebbels made it a priority to seize the film’s print once Nazi soldiers took hold of France.
The Criterion Channel
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