Grand Illusion

Send us Fan MailFilm is such a wonderful art form --- in some instances, almost the entirety of the world may be encompassed. Or the artist makes the attempt to capture the world. And thereby capture timeless subjects that are repeated down the years. Imagine developing a film that looks at the humanity of man. Classism. Racism. Antisemitism. War. The rise of fascism. Nationalism. Accomplished nearly one hundred years ago now --- and the ugly elements portrayed in the film are still around to plague us. Still relevant today.The masterstroke was to expose all of this in a story elegantly simple and straightforward. It was done in 1937 by Jean Renoir --- the film, Grand Illusion. Here --- I’ll give you the plot. Two French pilots are captured during WWI. They’re sent to a prison camp and try to escape. They almost make it out, but at the last moment, they’re sent to a different camp, supposedly inescapable. The German commandant of the POW camp admires them. They hatch another plan to escape, involving a third prisoner. Two of the prisoners escape, due to the sacrifice of the third, shot by the German commandant. There. That’s it. You can stop the pod now if you like.Website and blog: www.thosewonderfulpeople.comBluesky: @wonderfulpeople.bsky.social