La Règle du jeu

Jean Renoir, France, 1939, 110 minutes Although made in 1939, La Règle du Jeu, a social comedy about a wealthy country-house party, was officially banned in its present form until 1956 on the grounds that it was 'too demoralising'.

Renoir's strikng camerawork takes in all those involved in the events, from the Marquis who owns the house, to his servants who work at the rabbit shoot and the dinner party; two of the main settings for the unfolding of cinematic drama.

One of Renoir's greatest achievements is the effortless tracing of character movement and its effective employment in the forwarding of narrative. It is through brilliance in this area that La Règle du Jeu slips so seamlessly between comedy and tragedy.

As usual, the director instills his film with a great deal of charm, mostly derived from an genuinely humanistic worldview which refuses any simple moral judgement of his characters.

Renoir's most celebrated work is a sharp and accurate look at human nature. It is quick witted and endowed with enough pathos to keep any current audience enthralled. Indeed, it was voted the second greatest film of all time (Citizen Kane came first) in an international critics poll held during 1992.

A brilliant piece, it deserves far more attention than you might be inclined to give to a fifty year old black and white social comedy.

Review by Iain Lang/Iain Harral
Taken from EUFS Programme 1995-96