Leading film critic and writer Tim Robey, pictured here, was asked to choose the ten best anti-war films, and kindly offered a list, not in any particular order. ‘There are some obvious ones I've left off (e.g. Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket) but I thought you might want to direct people towards fresh discoveries,’ he told us. ‘These are all pretty amazing films in my opinion.’
Here’s the second: La Grande Illusion, a 1937 French war drama directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak.
The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are German prisoners-of-war during World War I and are plotting an escape. The title of the film comes from the 1909 book The Great Illusion by British journalist Norman Angell, which argued that war is futile because of the common economic interests of all European nations.
Renoir used World War I as a lens through which to examine Europe as it faced the rising spectre of fascism - especially in Nazi Germany - and the impending approach of World War II.
Renoir's critique of contemporary politics and ideology celebrates the universal humanity that transcends national and racial boundaries and radical nationalism, suggesting that mankind's common experiences should prevail above political division, and its extension: war.
In La Grande Illusion Renoir seeks to refute the notion that war accomplishes anything, or that it can be used as a political tool to solve problems and create a better world. ‘That's all an illusion’, says the film’s French Jewish army officer Lieutenant Rosenthal, speaking of the belief that this is the war that will end war forever.
Tim Robey was born in Hertfordshire in 1978 and educated at Beechwood Park School, Oundle and Oxford University, where he read classics. Since 2000 he has reviewed films, written features and conducted interviews for the Daily Telegraph's arts pages. He appears regularly on Radio 4's Front Row and Monocle FM Radio, contributed to R4's now-defunct Film Programme, and appeared as a sofa guest on BBC Film 2015-2017.
If you are interested in the history of early America, and Roger Conant as a peacemaker in troubled times you can join the Devon Peacemaker Festival Facebook group at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/700424602802079
No comments:
Post a Comment