Widely regarded as a masterpiece of French and humanist cinema, Jean Renoir’s 1937 tale of French POWs during the Great War deals with themes of class and social value as well as chivalry and resistance, reflecting the tensions in French society as another war approached.
“The “grand illusion” of Jean Renoir’s great film referred originally to the British author Norman Angell’s belief that the supposed financial advantage of war is a falsehood. For Renoir this illusion evolves into something more complex and various, and so does its tragic and ironic grandeur.” Peter Bradshaw – The Guardian.
