La Bête humaine (1938)

4/5

Jean Renoir's La Bête humaine, or The Human Beast, is a stunning film in the noir tradition. Written by Emile Zola, the story follows a train engineer with an unexplained mental affliction (Jean Gabin) as he falls in love with the wife of a train station manager (Simone Simon). They meet following a murder committed out of irrational, violent love and that is how their own relationship unfolds. It is a dark film and there is surprisingly little levity, at least compared to Renoir's other works. The themes it explores are fantastic, but I'm a little puzzled by the choice to have Gabin's character mentally aberrant--it seems to counter the power of the "human" condition by singling him out as abnormal.

Renoir has always been technically advanced, and this film is no exception. Its age is easily forgotten; it still seems crisp and fresh after 70 years. Both the cinematography and editing were pristine--I absolutely loved the intro and ending sequences. I liked the acting, but was unimpressed by the characters themselves. Maybe back then they didn't seem as archetypal as they are now. Still, it is a highly recommended film for noir lovers and Renoir fanatics.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0029957/

The Rules of the Game (1939)

5/5

This movie is a testament to films as a legitimate form of art. The abundance of content in this film is overwhelming; every single aspect of life is covered from the lower classes to high society (and the surprising parallels between them), from truth and identity to lies and mistaken identity, from fate to chance. Fully and completely. And in only 110 minutes. Yet it flows smoothly from scene to scene; nothing is rushed or lingered on. The acting by all characters was flawless in all respects; the subtle mannerisms precisely understated, the outrageous flamboyancy perfectly sensational. The shot composition, like the movie's content, is so simple superficially, but incredibly complex beneath the surface. The use of depth of field and background action is mesmerizing and ever-present. Every single scene is so accurately shot and technically breathtaking, but the camerawork is so airy and light that it feels completely natural, even dreamlike.

The depth of thematic material is ridiculous, strengthened by matching cinematic qualities. There is this idea hovering around throughout the film of Christine being trapped in her social class. The rules that govern her behavior are like prison bars, almost zoo-like in nature. This theme is demonstrated with Christine's final lines: "People are watching." Though the movie is incredibly funny throughout, this ending is remarkably sad in its quiet acquiescence to society's inescapable rules. Ironically, the moment when she had the chance to be the most free, she was behind the bars of a greenhouse and mistaken as another woman entirely.

Having so much ground to cover, the film gets a bit talky. I didn't mind though, because it would be like finding more gold in a gold mine and complaining that it was too heavy to carry. If I were forced to choose one film to hold the title of the best movie of all time, The Rules of the Game would be it.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0031885/