“Impressionism multiplied by the cinema”: The Films of Jean Renoir
Thursday, July 14 | 8 pm
Misunderstood and unappreciated upon its initial release in 1939, The Rules of the Game was voted the fourth greatest film of all time in the 2012 Sight and Sound poll and is widely regarded as the supreme masterpiece of the French cinema. Conceived and shot under the looming cloud of war and occupation, Renoir’s film—which centers on a group of haute bourgeoisie and their servants brought together for a hunting weekend at a country house—draws on the rich tradition of French Comic Theater in which all action is undertaken in the heedless pursuit of love, and everyone has their reasons. Pursuing a free and utterly modern long-take style that gives each character room to think, react, and evolve, Renoir elevates a simple tragic-comedy of manners into an incisive meditation on social class and a poignant evocation of a society “dancing on a volcano.”
Director Jean Renoir 1939 France 110 minutes NR 35mm
