Jean Renoir’s 1937 film, La Grande Illusion is a controversial piece of French art that
defies borders, exposing viewers to the humanity side of World War I, taking place only a few
years prior to WWII. On the surface, it is a film about the goings on within a German POW camp
and the subsequent escape of two of the main characters, French Le lieutenant Maréchal and Le
lieutenant Rosenthal. Beneath the surface, we could write entire books on the implicit meanings
within this classic film. We are going to unpack what I missed, what I saw, and why we are on
the brink of WWIII, despite the undeniable humanity that exists in our world.
What did I miss? I rewatched the first film I reviewed multiple times over. I could not do
this with The Grand Illusion. I took extensive notes but said nothing about feeling the music or
understanding camera movement and angles. I missed these key elements of speaking film.
Rather, I was busy reading subtitles and writing about the film’s props and story details. I am
very young in my film education. I never considered writing based on only one viewing.
However, when I reflect on writing about films, I realize this is most likely how experts like
Ebert do it.
What did I observe? The first scene begins in a bar with background blurring. There is a
song playing with the translation “liquor kills”. Is there symbolism here? There is liquor and
smoking in nearly every scene. The United States had only just overturned prohibition four years
prior. European countries have always had liquor, but I still find the song paired with extensive
drinking curious, since we know everything has meaning in film.
Very early in the movie, class is front and center. I was stunned when the German POW
head Le captaine von Rauffenstein told his comrades if the plane he shot down was French
officers, they should be invited to lunch. This hit me hard, as I think most POWs are not officers
and are not treated with the respect these officers were given. von Rauffenstein held deep respect
for Le captaine de Boeldieu because they were both aristocrats. The two were tied more closely
together by class, then they were divided by country, which is a common theme in the film. But,
in the end country won over von Rauffenstein and he was forced to shoot de Boeldieu during a
distraction false escape event. von Rauffenstein apologizes for shooting him, while both officers
acknowledge the aristocracy is dead and “dying in war is a good way out for officers”.
Food is another element of this film that struck me. From the first communal lunch with
the officers, to the sharing of parcels and canteen inside the POW camp, food is an element used
to again defy borders and, in this case, class and bring everyone together. The Germans and
French eat together with a German cutting food for the injured French officer, who although an
officer, is a common mechanic. The detainees share French peas and cabbage from their parcels.
Rosenthal, born in Jerusalem, with Jewish roots, shares his canteen. No one fears his Jewishness;
everyone, from everywhere, comes together with food. This, in and of itself, gave reason for
Nazi Germany to want La Grande Illusion destroyed; we are all human.
As stated, we could write books about this film. It is a war story, a humanity story, and
even a love story, so why haven’t we, as a people collectively, learned our lessons about war?
One grand illusion in La Grande Illusion, is that the war (WWI) is going to end and there will be
no more war, no more class-based fighting. WWII began only a few years after the release of this
film. We are currently on the brink of WWIII. The Nazi’s buried this film because exposing our
sameness was dangerous. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I could not find this film in digital
format. It has been removed from all sources. Is it still a controversial work? It absolutely is and
thus is all the more reason to watch it, to dissect it, to understand it. It is on my watch list.
Through the lens of human relationships, Renoir’s La Grande Illusion rattles elite ruling
classes all over the world. His work is as impactful in 2026 as it was in 1937. Human empathy is
real, even in times of war. The masses want peace, cheer, and most of all love. The highest
officer in the film opposes the war and yet here we are, no lessons learned, eighty-nine years
later, with the ruling class pitting us against each other. Much like Renoir, I still have faith,
humanity will prevail.
