The Grand Illusion

‘The Grand Illusion’, by any metrics, was one of cinema’s most inspiring gifts. Not only it was one of the greatest works in the War genre, it was also the very first ‘Prison-Escape’ film. It inspired numerous other films, the most famed ones being ‘Casablanca’ and ‘The Great Escape’. It was one of the pre-WWII films that Renoir had full artistic control on, and his unique style could be fully realized. The story delivered a strong sense of humanism. Renoir wished to convey a pacifying attitude to put brake on the eventual clash between nations – yet this attempt proved to be futile.

The storyline was simple yet humanistic. Two French pilots were shot down by Germans during the World War I, and they were sent to two prisoner camps, where they met other Prisoners of War. Under circumstances, they reconciled with some of the POWs they have met before when they were transferred, and also met the now crippled German Officer (played by the one and only Erich von Stroheim) who was now serving as the head officer of the prisoner camps. The POWs had different backgrounds, and originated from different ranks of social ladder, yet they could be able to respect each other, and the prisoners could also identity with their German counterparts. Nevertheless, the POWs hatched a daring escape plan, and the blue-blooded French officer turned out to be the one to sacrifice his life and allowed the remaining escapees to run away. After a brief stay in a common German girl’s house (played by L’Atalante’s Dita Parlo), the surviving duo eventually made their ways across the Swiss border.

‘La Grande Illusion’ was considered as an exemplary case of Poetic Realism. The humanistic elements conveyed in the film contributed to such a notion. Renoir adopted a cinematic style that would eventually be fully realized in his masterpiece, ‘The Rules of the Game’, to afford a cinematic naturalism that audience could be identified with. In order to bind all the characters together through a frame, he adopted his famous deep-focus photography to balance out the objective distance between his various characters and the audience. By using a fluid camera movement, the realism and the objectiveness of the scenes were enhanced, and this was signified by a far longer Average Shot Length (ASL) as compared to many contemporary films – which suggested the preponderance of sequence shots.

Using the aforementioned techniques, the theme of ‘unity’ could be succinctly stated. Renoir intended to unveil the illusion that categories and labels were meaningful and would lead to better ends. In the film, the group dynamics were not always dictated by stable categorizations – class, nationality, character were meaningless and these could all be reduced to one class known as ‘man’. Down under the skin, we are all indeed the same. No one particular attributes were above other – for example, the blue-blooded French pilot turned out to have an unlikely friendship with the German officer because they came from a similar upbringing and gained mutual respect. The Frenchman was far more reserved with his other working-class comrades, though ironically, at the end that was him sacrificing for a greater good. This is what humanism is all about – human characters are so complex and unpredictable that makes it such a fascinating appeal. By abandoning the futile labels, humans could then transcend and get closer.

Though the emergence of this film could not wipe out the arrival of WWII, Renoir has indeed made this truly inspiring film that its impact could still be felt many years after its release. As Welles has complimented, ‘La Grande Illusion’ was a film that should be brought onto the Ark!

Poetic Realism (2/3)

by Ed Law

8/3/2015

Film Analysis - 36

The Renoir Legacy

‘Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette’ (1876)

In the realm of art, there are two ‘Renoirs’, who have stood the test of time and inspired generations of artists and filmmakers. The first is Pierre Auguste Renoir, one of the epitomes of French Impressionism in the late 19^th century. The second is Jean Renoir, the former Renoir’s second son. Jean Renoir has 2 modern classics under his wings: ‘The Grand Illusion’ (1937) and ‘The Rules of The Game’ (1939). While the two Renoirs appear to be descended from different schools of style - Impressionism for Pierre Auguste and Naturalism for Jean – interesting parallels can be observed from Pierre Auguste’s paintings and Jean’s films. Indeed, the young Jean was greatly benefited from an artistic upbringing and support from his family members, and his brothers all eventually accomplished in various artistic fields. Here, I share with you my personal observations of the ‘Two Renoirs’.

Pierre Auguste Renoir

Pierre Auguste Renoir

Orson Welles has once remarked, ‘For the high and mighty of the movie industry, a Renoir on the wall is the equivalent of a Rolls Royce in the garage.’ (1) While Renoir paintings have elevated their reputations to such monumental status, his pioneering style was not as well-received when his first paintings were distributed to the general public. He is seen as a major figure in French Impressionism, which represents a break-away from the more classical approach to painting at the time.  With revolutionary brush strokes and innovative uses of novel oil colours, their work reflect an intimate ‘warmth’ even when viewed from the distanced eyes of modern audience. The Impressionists were also committed to capture a stronger sense of realism in their paintings. For instance, a number of artists advocated the idea of ‘en plein air’ - painting outdoors - so as to capture a stronger coherence to the natural environment in their work. This style is reminiscent of later cinematic movements such as Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave, which also advocated on-location shooting to achieve a stronger realism and a more authentic reflection of the real lives.  

The Theater Box (1874). Man spying on woman, woman peeping on man.

Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880)

The Swing (1876)

‘Deep focus’ in Pierre Auguste Renoir’s paintings

Deep focus is a photographic technique that has reached legendary status in many of Jean Renoir and Orson Welles’ works. By placing the majority of characters or settings in focus for a given shot, the technique provides a holistic view of the setting, instead of a more subjective perspective that involves close-up shots or point-of-view shots. When I appreciate many of Pierre Auguste’s work, I am struck by the observation that a number of his works feature a ‘deep focus’ painting style, and the result is a far more holistic view and the subject (for example a party) becomes far more vivid and fresh. In ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ (1880), we can see the ten-or-so guests, the nice puppy, the wine bottles and glasses are all clear in focus, and this tight-knitted arrangement leads to a coherent unity and draws all the guests closer as a result. A lively mass dance is depicted in ‘Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette’ (1876), when a majority of the characters are drawn in clear details and they are seen interacting with each other. While one may argue that this work also has a shallow focus element – as there are hundreds of dancers at the back, Renoir still managed to instill some colorful details to the background. Even for a tighter arrangement like ‘The Swing’ (1876), that is comprised of two groups of four, the ‘deep focus’ approach is still possible. Indeed, for the composition here, I can see uncanny resemblance to the ‘contract arrangement’ scene in Welles’ ‘Citizen Kane’ (1941)!

The Artist's Family (1896)

Jean Renoir

Jean Renoir

Pierre Auguste’s second son, Jean, was born in 1894. Pierre Auguste’s family members and friends were often the subjects of his paintings, therefore a couple of famous paintings feature Jean the garçon. From these paintings, some lights could be shed about Jean’s childhood upbringing, which would significantly influence his cinematic vision in the later years. Jean has had very intimate relationship with his cousin Gabrielle Renard, who raised him and introduced him to many different facets of art, from puppet shows to the first movie he ever watched. To quote from Renoir’s autobiography, ‘She taught me to see the face behind the mask and the fraud behind the flourishes’. (2) That was his cousin who inspired him to look beyond the façades, and this was indeed the major theme of many of Renoir’s work (that is why I like him). While his father has also inspired and has encouraged him to engage in artistic activities, such as a brief stint in ceramics, Renoir has discovered his true love in Zola-esque Naturalism, for which he has adopted Zola’s literature work into a number of his films. On the other hand, Renoir was also highly inspired by Erich von Stroheim’s films, for which the dawning lights of ‘auteurism’ and ‘realism’ surfaced. Renoir and von Stroheim would eventually collaborate in 1937, when they filmed the one-of-a-kind war film known as ‘The Grand Illusion’. From all these influences, Jean Renoir has gone on to develop his unique ‘Renoir-esque Naturalism’, and also contributed significantly to the ‘Poetic Realism’ movement in the 1930s and 1940s. As of Poetic Realism, that is another story!

Gabrielle Renard and Jean Renoir.

An armed Jean Renoir.

Erich von Stroheim

Both Renoirs love the truth, and they have no reservations to pass that on with their stunning styles. To me, the word ‘Renoir’ signifies a touch of class.

By Ed Law

15/2/2015

以戲服人 Film Analysis - 34

Reference:

(1)  'Jean Renoir : The Greatest of All Directors', by Orson Welles. 18/2/1979, Los Angeles Times.

(2)  My Life and My Films, by Jean Renoir, 1974.

Renoir

Do you feel life is a charade?

Gents flirt with their façades

and ladies veiled by their masquerades.

Human nature is a labyrinth

it is sentiment that divides the rift.

With your whirling camera in motion

you tour us through the human condition.

Down the hallways and the party rooms

you capture all compassion with a zoom.

Once she peeped through the telescope

the grass turned a wasteland of no hope.

You, the poetic warrior

witness the skirmishes along the corridor.

The war of all against all

is the truth that will never stall.

They say it is the Grand Illusion

or is it our tragic delusions?

Where is the sacred river,

the cleansing spring to soothe our pain?

Maybe we all have our reasons

that is true for men of all seasons.

The fathers mock this as treason

but the mass will chant your name in unison.

All, for your unique vision.

-Dedicated to the one and only Jean Renoir-

By Edwin Law

26/7/2014