Daily Movie Rec 5/13/2023

The Rules of the Game (1939)

"It breaks my heart, but I can't expose my guests to your firearms. It may be wrong of them, but they value their lives."

Directed by: Jean Renoir

Cinematography by: Jean Bachelet

Country: France

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Plot:

An aristocratic dinner party descends into chaos.

Reasons to watch:

This toothy satire is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. It closed out the 1930s like a powder keg, and, at the onset of WWII, exposed the shallow relationships and paper-thin veneer of “civilized high society” arising from an obsolete, self-serving way of life - almost childlike in its cluelessness. With the endless mayhem of the second half captured through Renoir’s roving, havoc-filled tracking shots, and the very committed, uproariously farcical performances from the ensemble cast, The Rules of the Game is a devilishly fun time and seems like it would have been a blast to make.

Where to watch:

The Criterion Channel