Grand Illusion is a war film that focuses very little on war. Instead it focuses on those who have been brought together by war and how cultural and class differences affect their interactions. From the beginning Renior makes a point of mentioning the class differences between the men. It is made clear to us that De Boeldieu and Von Rauffenstein are both men of the aristocratic class. In the scene where the men are eating together after Rauffenstein has shot down their plane, De Boeldieu and Rauffenstein discover that they know each other through acquaintances. This demonstrates that class can often transcend cultural and national borders. Throughout the film Rauffenstein and De Boeldieu seem to have a relationship between them because of their common class that De Boeldieu doesn’t even seem to share with his fellow French servicemen Maréchal or Rosenthal.

This film also serves as a meditation for the collapse of the world order that dies after World War I. In on brilliantly done scene De Boldieu sacrifices himself so that Maréchal and Rosenthal can escape and Rauffenstein is forced to kill him. One is able to see the reluctance Rauffenstein has about shooting his friend and fellow aristocrat. As De Boldieu dies he laments about how the role of the aristocracy in society is dwindling and feels sorry that Rauffenstein is left to struggle to find a place. De Boldieu says, “For a commoner, dying in a war is a tragedy. But for you and I, it’s a good way out.” Rauffenstein then symbolically cuts his geranium, lamenting for his friend and marking the end of the world order that he is familiar with.

The film deals a great deal with artificial walls that are put up between different people. These walls can be nationalistic, cultural, or class divisions. The theme of national differences is emphasized by language barriers. When Maréchal leaves his original camp he tries to tell the incoming British officers about the tunnel but they are unable to understand him. However, Renoir proves that these differences are easily overcome. When Maréchal encounters Elsa neither of them are able to speak the other’s language. Despite this, they are still able to form a connection and fall in love. Even national borders are easily overcome. The end of the film shows Maréchal and Rosenthal crossing the Swiss border. “You can‘t see a frontier, they are man‘s invention. Nature ignores frontiers.” Rosenthal says this in reference to the Swiss border. Even thought they cross a line that does not exist in actuality, the troops cannot shoot or go after them because of the meaning that man has given this imaginary line. Therefore Renoir makes a statement that these walls exist only because man has erected them and assigned a superficial meaning to them.

It’s no surprise that a son of one of the most famous painters in the world could create as visually beautiful a movie as Grand Illusion. This film uses stunning set design and elegant camera movement to create an astonishing mise-en-scène as well as to further the storyline. The panning style adds a fluidity to the film and melds the set together giving the viewer a larger scope. The viewer can see more of the set design than one would normally and allows one to appreciate the mise-en-scène even more. The viewer also has a better sense of perspective throughout the film. When focused on one action or person the camera will often pan instead of cut to another. This serves to remind the viewer that the one subject the camera was focusing on was but one subject among countless others. It also reminds us that all they are all connected.

One scene in which the pan plays a major role is the scene where the men in the POW camp receive women’s dresses for a musical they are putting on. One man tries a dress on and a pan is shown of several still men looking on. The panning connects the action of the men with that of the man dressed as a woman. As the camera moves, the men are also very still with no movement. For a moment, the film mimics a painting. The camera’s movement almost imitating a paint brush as it sweeps past the men and finally focuses again on the man in drag. Perhaps, Renoir is paying an honor to his father the famous impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir by taking caméra-stylo a step further and wielding a camera as a painter uses his brush.