La Grande Illusion

Rating: 7/10 (10 December 2012)

From director Jean Renoir (Boudu Saved from Drowning, Partie De Campagne, La Règle Du Jeu), I assumed from the title being listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die that this was going to be either a fantasy or art based film,I had no idea it was a French war movie, and one made just before the start of World War II, set in World War I. Basically French Captain De Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and Lieutenant Maréchal (Jean Gabin), in service during the First World War, get shot down during a reconnaissance mission by German Captain Von Rauffenstein (Erich Von Stroheim) and end up captured, but Von Rauffenstein seems charmed by De Boeldieu. They are taken to a Hallbach POW (Prisoner of War) camp where they seem to be treated differently by all the other lower ranked people there, only the two officers have a friendship between them due to their situation that they are trying to escape from. On the request of Von Rauffenstein, now commandant and having a permanent injury, the two of them are transferred to a converted 13th century castle, now the Wintersborn POW camp. Maréchal and fellow captive Lieutenant Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio) start making plans and preparations to make their next escape attempt from the new camp, while De Boeldieu seems more interested in keeping his position and bonding more in his special friendship with Von Rauffenstein. Also starring Dita Parlo as Elsa – Peasant woman/Farm woman, Julien Carette as Actor, Gaston Modot as Engineer, Jean Dasté as School Teacher, Georges Péclet as French soldier and Jacques Becker as English officer. The cast do their parts as good as you can expect, only very occasionally speaking English, I have to say that this is probably the first wartime escape movie I have seen to come from another country other than Britain or America, it does have some interesting moments as the French side hang around with some of the German side, so overall I would say it is a worthwhile classic First World War drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Picture. Very good!