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La Marseillaise
1938 History / Drama
Review
The only one of Renoir’s films that can truly be described as epic, La Marseillaise
succeeds as both an accurate historical account of an important part of French history
and as a reflection of the mood of the time. The late 1930s was a dark and uncertain
time in the history of France, and this film, although strangely optimistic, seems to
capture that feeling quite noticeably.
The origins of the Revolution and the rationale for the foundation of the French Nation are explored in detail. The absurdity and irrelevance of the royal court is placed side by side with the penury of the life of a French peasant. Whilst Marie-Antoinette and her courtiers are dancing the latest gavotte, a man can be hung for shooting a pigeon.
Renoir carefully avoids reference to the brutality
of the Revolution and focuses on the necessity of a country united. It is a message
that would have been well received by the cinema-going public at a time when Europe was
on the brink of its worst conflict.
© James Travers 2001
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Director:
Jean Renoir
Starring: Pierre Renoir, Lise Delamare, Léon Larive, William Aguet, Aimé Clariond Synopsis
This film traces the early years of the French Revolution, from the storming of the Bastille
in 1789 to the campaign to drive off the Prussian army in 1781. We see the effect
of the Revolution on both ordinary people and on the royal court. The removal of
the monarchy has a sad inevitability as a nation comes together and unites under the French
tricoleur to the sound of that great anthem, La Merseillaise.
Credits
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