La Grande Illusion story
La Grande Illusion (also known as The Grand Illusion) is a 1937 French war 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 prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape. The title of the film comes from the 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.
8 total · 3 choice · 3 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| human vs. captivity | choice | the story followed some French air-force officer who plotted to escape from a German officer prison camp |
| prisoners of war | choice | the story followed some French air-force officer who had been taken captive |
| the senselessness of war | choice | underlying the whole story was the idea that war is stupid in addition to terrible |
| patriotism | major | there was some talk and many allusions to this sentient |
| solitary confinement as a punishment | major | Maréchal nearly went mad in solitary confinement. |
| World War I | major | some real events and features of WW1 appeared |
| bird in a gilded cage | minor | early there were comments about how well the Germans treated their prisoners |
| prejudicial attitude of superiority against someone less well off than one's self | minor | Rittmeister von Rauffenstein revealed his disdain for lower classes when he spoke to Maréchal, a fellow aristocrat. |