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Grand Illusion
Grand Illusion
8.7
/10
6,554 Ratings

GRAND ILLUSION

La grande illusion

Directed by Jean Renoir
France, 1937
Drama, War

Synopsis

A group of French soldiers, including an aristocrat captain and a working-class lieutenant, grapple with their class differences as they are held in a WWI German prison camp. When transferred to a high-security fortress ruled by an aristocratic German officer, the men must concoct an escape plan.

Synopsis

A group of French soldiers, including an aristocrat captain and a working-class lieutenant, grapple with their class differences as they are held in a WWI German prison camp. When transferred to a high-security fortress ruled by an aristocratic German officer, the men must concoct an escape plan.

Our take

Jean Renoir’s masterpiece remains as relevant today as it ever was. Made on the eve of the Second World War, but set in a prisoner-of-war camp during WWI, this Oscar®-nominated classic is one of the most profound anti-war statements in cinema history: a film boundless in its empathy and compassion.