doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Interesting French Film

Stayed up way too late last nite to finish watching a fascinating French film, "The Rules of The Game." Sort of a much faster-paced, French-language subtitled version of one of my alltime favorites, "The Shooting Party." Filmed in all black and white, this pre-WW II film was initally "panned and canned" by audiences, not because of the wonderfully accurate hunting scenes (beaters driving covers; pheasants, rabbits and other small furry critters fleeing in the direction of the guns, and ladies and gentlemen on their stands taking down high-flying birds and scampering bunnies, etc.), but mainly for its exploitation of the classed society and its behavioral mores of love, sex, and personal service. Much like "The Shooting Party", the film has a much different but no less tragic ending.

Here's what the AFI film library review had to say about it:

"Jean Renoir (the Director) said that this was not intended to be a social commentary, and whether he truly intended it to be (he referred to it as, "An exact description of the bourgeoisie of our time.") or not, it is hard to dismiss that it hit close to home. So offended were the masses that the picture was banned. It is said that behind every joke there is truth, and whether this was intended to be a joke or not, Renoir still found truth. One could argue the director's intentions all day, but one matter that cannot be disputed is that this film is extraordinary! As a handful of French men and women converge on a château for a hunting expedition, their love affairs clash with their obligations to society's game. For instance, one cannot leave one's lover to be with another until he has confessed his adultery to her. Attempts to leave with another man's wife are particularly difficult, as well, unless the other man has a mistress of his own. These are but a few rules of the game. The old are for the old, the young are for the young. Members of one social order are forbidden to see members from another, and so on. Combine these rules with a tangled web of countless love affairs between a handful of people, and you can see the madness that erupts during the course of this movie. The parts are all played well, but it is the writing and directing of Renoir that makes the film the masterpiece that it is. Keeping all of these sordid affairs in order is an achievement in its own right, but Renoir moves his pieces all over the board like a skilled chess player, achieving his goal while never forgetting the rules of the game!"

If you're a Francophobe, forget it. But this film is a rare example of a faithful depiction of the European country life before the outbreak of the war that changed it forever. The scenes of the chateau and its goings on and especially the details of the driven shoot are very meticulous in their presentation. Like "The Shooting Party", set on the brink of WW I, it vividly frames the end of an era. If you get a chance to see it and don't mind reading subtitles, it makes for a most interesting viewing. KBM

WOW!!

Now thank you for a nice tip. Good films are a treat, and we miss so many contemporary ones, living outside of the intellectual dunghills which comprise the major centers of alledged culture, today.

Thank goodness for the 'Net and movie rentals. Classics may be found.

Ah, zee French cineastes, whoof-shrug! So long as it ain't Godard's secret agent from FutureWorld, I might be awake at the end. But Grand Illusion is a wonderful old movie about something which deserves more thought and attention than the excruciating difficulties of bed-hopping among the smart set.

jack

Meh anduh myee minkey veell haf taw sae thees.

Forsake the Parker Bros. and Superposed for one Darne and your gone for sure. See you next Tuesday night!

Darne, I can't believe I missed that. I'll have to look for that on Netflix. It sounds like a Robust flick

It was broadcast on Turner Classic Movies (our HBO Channel 94 here just outside the Beltway)Tues. 9/12 at 10:30PM. Tuned in late but didn't see any Darnes that I could definitely identify. My lately-acquired smallbore is beautiful but I can't hit squat with it yet - maybe I should start calling for the targets in French, no? KBM

Ortolan

Thanks for taking the time to overview the film. I'd definitely enjoy seeing it.

KBM:

Are you having the mysterious "overlong stock" experience with your Frenchy? Leo Toraballa commented on that recently and I've had the same odd sense of comfort with a Charlin 12 stocked at 15+ inches. The stump drummer says 1cm longer than usual can be comfortable with Darne. That's about 5/16". The Charlin stock is at least 1/2" longer than any stock I've had previously and I'm not having any problems. I thought my Citori 20 gauge Superlight was the awkwardest darn thing I'd even seen at 14 1/2". Despite the gauge difference, there wasn't much weight difference and I didn't detect great differences in hand or comb between the two. The Superlight is gone; Charlin still here.

jack

Marklart, I'd say it's closer to "Ideal."