The Rules of the Game Jean Renoir’s 1939 film is a powerfully directed movie and functions historically with just as much flare and enthusiasm as it functions aesthetically. Even though it begins with a disclaimer regarding the unintentionality of any possible social commentary that could be derived from it, the disclaimer is more lip service than anything else. The film is as highly focused on the social facet as any that has ever been made, which is evident even on the first viewing. The particular mention of the historical setting as being on the eve of World War II is consciously guiding and is a foreshadowing of the general malaise of the characters in the film and the real-life social groups which they represent. It is clear that the title of the film, in a general way, is referring to the upper-middle class characters of the diegetic world and the personal statutes that they follow in civilized life. It becomes apparent through the entirety of the film that the predisposition to follow these codified societal regulations is a sort of formality that is not always associated with the maintenance of rightness or the preservation of humanity. Renoir’s message seems to be one of sacrifice. The bourgeois tendency to play by the rules is what ultimately brings about a forfeiture of humanity. The more the characters attempt to conduct themselves in a civilized and composed manner, the more they seem to be emotionally detached and basically uncivilized. If the characters are just playing out their social roles according to the rules of the game, then they simply become literal pawns with no real direction or volition. On another level of analysis, the game that takes place between the upper class people and ... ... middle of paper ... ...enoir is blaming this ideological function for the war, but it is to blame for something particularly conspicuous about French society of that period. The beauty of the film is that it can present this poem to accompany the narrative, it can present a forum for examining these great themes, and it can leave things at that [intended as entertainment]. The overarching message of The Rules of the Game is the need for a focus on the ideological misappropriations of the middle and upper classes. The viewer is brought to face certain questions upon a first viewing. Does someone need to die for the importance of humanism and emotion to be recognized? The obvious answer that Renoir gives is no. The murder at the end, aside from being unjustified, is no solution and no great awakening. Business continues as usual at the house, breakfast convenes at the normal time.
Film Noir, as Paul Schrader integrates in his essay ‘Notes on Film Noir,’ reflects a marked phase in the history of films denoting a peculiar style observed during that period. More specifically, Film Noir is defined by intricate qualities like tone and mood, rather than generic compositions, settings and presentation. Just as ‘genre’ categorizes films on the basis of common occurrences of iconographic elements in a certain way, ‘style’ acts as the paradox that exemplifies the generality and singularity at the same time, in Film Noir, through the notion of morality. In other words, Film Noir is a genre that exquisitely entwines theme and style, and henceforth sheds light on individual difference in perception of a common phenomenon. Pertaining
The book took place from 1944 - 1945 on Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald towards the end of World War II.
"World War 2 was a war fought in two distinct phases. The first was the last war of a new generation. The second was emphatically the first of a new era" .
raised, and the film’s bring the awareness to the forefront while also considering the underlying
Adams, Michael C. C. The "Best War Ever: America and World War II" Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 1994. Bailey, Ronald H. The Home Front, U.S.A. Time-Life Publishing, Chicago, IL. 1978 Bard, Mitchell G.
“The effect of World War II” 1950s vol. 4. Danbury: Grolier, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2005.
O'Neill, William L. World War II: A Student Companion. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
c) Is stereotyping a basis for any conflict incidents shown in the film? Note some
Stroebel, Jeffrey T. World War II. Part I: Between the Wars. The Sycamore School, 1995. Revised 1998.
...e exact opposite, rendering his dedication and involvement in the Milice questionable. In this sense, Lucien, is portraying the typical bourgeois collaborateur as a human being who is capable of love, quite unlike the traditional image of a “monster”. However, Lucien and his motives remain ambiguous to the audience due to his questionable treatment of France at certain points within the film. Whilst Lucien is “courting” France, he demands that she escort him to a dance at the hotel which has become a gathering place for the Milice, against her will and her father’s will. This is a highly selfish act on Lucien’s part, as France is in great danger the entire evening since the generals within the Milice are well aware of her status as a Jew, creating doubt withing the audience over the authenticity of Lucien’s love and his capability to think and feel in a moral manner
While all this was taking place on the other hand in France a new movement was surging of blanket term devised by critics for some of the French filmmakers of the late fifties and sixties who were impacted by the Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood films. It initially was never a movement which was officially planned, but the up surging filmmakers were being connected to it because of their self-conscious dismissal of classical filmmaking methods and their spirit of young iconoclasm which was a sample of the European art movies. Many filmmakers were involved with their work as they tried to involve the social and political turmoil’s of the era.
Campbell, John, ed. The Experience of World War II. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.
The entire movie is bursting with counter narratives, when the audience believes they hold an accurate grasp on what is truly happening, there is a misguiding event, as the storyline is continually challenged. The viewer’s beginning formations about what is going on are learned to be always questionable because what is repeatedly steered to trust and is revealed not be the truth in the conclusion of the film. This neo-noir film had multiple scenarios that make the previous actions untrustworthy to the actual message. This proves that all the observations and thoughts the viewer possesses are only relevant to what they are exposed to and shown and not to what is, in fact, happening.
World War Two where at first life is good and all is well for Anne and
The first concept important to me that I learned after watching the film is the main theme for the film. I believe the main theme of the film