The Rules of the Game
In 1939, able to co-finance his own films, Renoir made "The Rules of the Game" ("La Règle du Jeu"), a satire on contemporary French society with an ensemble cast. Renoir played the character Octave, who serves to connect characters from different social strata. The film was his greatest commercial failure, met with derision by Parisian audiences at its premiere. He extensively reedited the work, but without success at the time.