The Rules of the Game (1939)
Everyone Has His Reasons
The Marquis Robert de La Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio) and his wife Christine (Nora Grégor) have a luxurious home in Paris. They have a château—‘La Colinière’—in the Sologne region, sixty miles south of the city.
And, they have complicated lives
Robert has had a mistress for the last three years—Geneviève de Marras (Mila Parély)—a fact that seems to be a secret to nobody, but Christine.
And Christine has several admirers.
First, there is André Jurieu (Roland Toutain). He is the pilot who has just flown the Atlantic in a record 23 hours. André is disappointed to discover that Christine, who inspired him to make the flight, is not at Le Bourget airfield to greet him when he lands. Second, there is Octave (Jean Renoir). He is André’s friend, he was Christine’s childhood companion, and he, too, is in love with her. And third, there is Saint-Aubin (Pierre Nay)—who just happens to be a friend of Geneviève’s.
A second chain of relationships involves Christine’s maid Lisette (Paulette Dubost), her husband Schumacher (Gaston Modot), who is Robert’s head gamekeeper at ‘La Colinière,’ and Marceau (Julien Carette), an incorrigible poacher. Completing this second chain—and linking it to the first—is Octave, who flirts with Lisette anytime that he finds her alone.
The various relationships evolve. Christine announces that her relationship with André is only one of friendship. Robert decides to leave Geneviève. However, then Christine sees Robert and Geneviève’s farewell kiss…
Meantime, Schumacher has written to Robert. He wants Lisette to live with him at 'La Colinière.' When Robert tells Lisette, her reply is, “Leave Madame’s service? Monsieur le Marquis, I would prefer to get a divorce.” Then later, at ‘La Colinière,’ Lisette meets Marceau and is attracted to him.
The complex relationships of Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game (1939) are explored with clarity and economy. This is in part because of the script, written by Renoir with the collaboration of Carl Koch, which was derived from classical French theater—from the comedies of Marivaux, from de Musset’s ‘Les Caprices de Marianne’ and from Beaumarchais’ ‘Le Marriage de Figaro.’ And, it is in part because of the bravura camerawork.
The movie’s art director, Eugène Lourié, built a huge set exactly matching the exterior dimensions of the château of ‘La Colinière.’ This enabled Renoir to stage scenes simultaneously, in different rooms, and to reveal parallel actions with elaborate tracking shots.
The movie has two splendid set pieces. The first is a hunt, organized by Schumacher, which begins with beaters driving rabbits and pheasants out into the open—so that Robert and Christine’s guests can shoot them. It is a brilliantly edited sequence that is both breathtaking and brutal.
The second is the fête put on to entertain the guests after the exertions of the hunt. It begins with songs and sketches presented on stage in the great hall of ‘La Colinière.’ But then, when Christine leaves the stage with Saint-Aubin and is followed by André, it spreads into the audience. And, when Schumacher begins stalking Lisette and Marceau with his rifle, it spills into the corridors. The guests no longer know what is entertainment and what is real. Renoir’s direction in this sequence is astonishing. The action appears to be chaotic, out of control, but it is revealed with the utmost clarity.
The Rules of the Game switches between farce and tragedy, between servants and masters and, seventy years after it was made, remains a vibrant, exhilarating movie.
—John Bloomfield (September, 2005)
The Marquis Robert de La Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio) and his wife Christine (Nora Grégor) have a luxurious home in Paris. They have a château—‘La Colinière’—in the Sologne region, sixty miles south of the city.
And, they have complicated lives
Robert has had a mistress for the last three years—Geneviève de Marras (Mila Parély)—a fact that seems to be a secret to nobody, but Christine.
And Christine has several admirers.
First, there is André Jurieu (Roland Toutain). He is the pilot who has just flown the Atlantic in a record 23 hours. André is disappointed to discover that Christine, who inspired him to make the flight, is not at Le Bourget airfield to greet him when he lands. Second, there is Octave (Jean Renoir). He is André’s friend, he was Christine’s childhood companion, and he, too, is in love with her. And third, there is Saint-Aubin (Pierre Nay)—who just happens to be a friend of Geneviève’s.
A second chain of relationships involves Christine’s maid Lisette (Paulette Dubost), her husband Schumacher (Gaston Modot), who is Robert’s head gamekeeper at ‘La Colinière,’ and Marceau (Julien Carette), an incorrigible poacher. Completing this second chain—and linking it to the first—is Octave, who flirts with Lisette anytime that he finds her alone.
The various relationships evolve. Christine announces that her relationship with André is only one of friendship. Robert decides to leave Geneviève. However, then Christine sees Robert and Geneviève’s farewell kiss…
Meantime, Schumacher has written to Robert. He wants Lisette to live with him at 'La Colinière.' When Robert tells Lisette, her reply is, “Leave Madame’s service? Monsieur le Marquis, I would prefer to get a divorce.” Then later, at ‘La Colinière,’ Lisette meets Marceau and is attracted to him.
The complex relationships of Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game (1939) are explored with clarity and economy. This is in part because of the script, written by Renoir with the collaboration of Carl Koch, which was derived from classical French theater—from the comedies of Marivaux, from de Musset’s ‘Les Caprices de Marianne’ and from Beaumarchais’ ‘Le Marriage de Figaro.’ And, it is in part because of the bravura camerawork.
The movie’s art director, Eugène Lourié, built a huge set exactly matching the exterior dimensions of the château of ‘La Colinière.’ This enabled Renoir to stage scenes simultaneously, in different rooms, and to reveal parallel actions with elaborate tracking shots.
The movie has two splendid set pieces. The first is a hunt, organized by Schumacher, which begins with beaters driving rabbits and pheasants out into the open—so that Robert and Christine’s guests can shoot them. It is a brilliantly edited sequence that is both breathtaking and brutal.
The second is the fête put on to entertain the guests after the exertions of the hunt. It begins with songs and sketches presented on stage in the great hall of ‘La Colinière.’ But then, when Christine leaves the stage with Saint-Aubin and is followed by André, it spreads into the audience. And, when Schumacher begins stalking Lisette and Marceau with his rifle, it spills into the corridors. The guests no longer know what is entertainment and what is real. Renoir’s direction in this sequence is astonishing. The action appears to be chaotic, out of control, but it is revealed with the utmost clarity.
The Rules of the Game switches between farce and tragedy, between servants and masters and, seventy years after it was made, remains a vibrant, exhilarating movie.
—John Bloomfield (September, 2005)
posted by John Bloomfield at 10:18 PM
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