A quick review for a deeper film.

Rating: 7/10 (23 August 2007)

It was only after this movie that I went through some of my logs, lists, reviews, and whatnot and realized that I've never seen a Renoir film before this one. What the ... ? Anyway, this movie is about how war democratizes class politics, despite the pomp and standing of the various individuals involved, shown through the actions of a bunch of POW officers during WWI. It has a very good ending, but Renoir isn't quite finished making all his points yet and it continues on, including a minor love story and some more character development before finally concluding. The most remarkable thing about this movie is that it was made in the 30s... in the midst of depression, between WWI and WWII, and it definitely shows that the issues of WWI weren't resolved before the fighting concluded. In that way, it's a pretty observant and poignant film.
--PolarisDiB