La Grande Illusion

La Grande Illusion (French for "The Grand Illusion") is a 1937 French war drama film 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. The perspective of the film is generously humanistic to its characters of various nationalities. La Grande Illusion is regarded by critics and film historians as one of the masterpieces of French cinema and among the greatest films ever made. Orson Welles named La Grande Illusion as one of the two movies he would take with him "on the ark." In 1958, the film was voted number 5 on the prestigious Brussels 12 list at the 1958 World Expo. In 1995, the Vatican included La Grande Illusion in its list of 45 "great films" under the category of "Art." Empire magazine ranked it #35 in "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010. During the First World War, two French aviators of the Service Aéronautique, the aristocratic Captain de Boëldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, set out to investigate a blurred spot found on reconnaissance photographs. They are shot down by German flying ace and aristocrat, Rittmeister von Rauffenstein, and both are taken prisoner by the Imperial German Army. Upon returning to the aerodrome, Rauffenstein sends a subordinate to find out if the aviators are officers and, if so, to invite them to lunch. During the meal, Rauffenstein and Boëldieu discover they have mutual acquaintances—a depiction of the familiarity, if not solidarity, within the upper classes that crosses national boundaries. Boëldieu and Maréchal are then taken to a prisoner-of-war camp, where they meet a colorful group of French prisoners and stage a vaudeville-type performance just after the Germans have taken Fort Douaumont in the epic Battle of Verdun.