La Regle Du Jeu

Shocking, amusing, disturbing, charming, deeply cynical and provocative: if you think that one movie cannot possibly be all that then think again, because Jean Renoir’s ‘satirical comedy of manners’ caused an almighty stink upon its premiere and in 1939 it was banned by the French government for ‘having an undesirable influence over the young’. The film depicts members of the upper-crust French society and their servants during a weekend shooting party in a country chateau engaging in romantic affairs and blood sports – all this on the eve of WW2. What the film is really about though is a study of the corruption and decay at the top of French society.

However, the film does not start at said country chateau but at an airfield outside Paris where celebrated aviator André Jurieux (Roland Toutain) has just crossed the Atlantic and is greeted by masses of enthusiastic people, the press and above all, his good friend Octave (played by the great man himself: Jean Renoir). Despite the overall party vibe, André bemoans the fact that Christine (Nora Gregor), the Austrian-French noble woman he loves, is not among those who have come to greet him. Not only does André bemoan this but he does so in public, with his bitter words broadcast on radio. While Christine, who is married to wealthy Robert, Marquis de la Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio), listens to the broadcast on the radio, Octave criticises his friend for having made his disappointment public, pointing out that it may not have been possible for Christine to greet André at the airfield due to her aristocratic status and the fact that she is married.

Later on, Christine meets her friend Octave in her apartment and it is arranged that André can visit her, after all, it’s an open secret that he and Christine are lovers (even her husband knows) while the Marquis has a lover in Geneviéve de Marras (Mila Parély) – something that Christine is about to find out the hard way after the Marquis, selected guests and their servants make their way to La Coliniére, his impressive country retreat. Also among the servants is Lisette (Paulette Dubost), Christine’s loyal maid who is married to Edouard Schumacher (Gaston Modot), the Marquis’ gamekeeper though it’s fair to say that Lisette feels more loyalty towards her mistress Christine than her husband.
When aviator André arrives to declare his love for Christine for the umpteenth time, tongues soon start wagging that Geneviéve will begin an affair with him.
Soon, ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ find themselves embroiled in all sorts of shenanigans and decadence takes hold. During a shooting spree in the countryside, the Marquis and his cronies fire away and kill countless poor rabbits and peasants (sorry, I mean pheasants… what difference does it make to Chesnayes’ ilk…) in the process – these killings were for real (no ‘no animals were harmed during filming’ disclaimer here) and the entire scene makes for particularly uncomfortable viewing, what with fatally wounded rabbits in their final moments before life becomes extinct. If this scene aimed to further highlight the utter arrogance of the upper classes and its obsession with blood sports, then it can only be called a huge success.

During one shooting spree Schumacher catches Marceau (Julien Carette), a poacher, and threatens to report him to the authorities. Luckily for Marceau, the Marquis witnesses the scene and offers Marceau a ‘proper’ job as a legal hunter. As a sign of his gratitude, Marceau expresses his wish to enter the domestic household as he fancies wearing a uniform and begins to lust after Lisette, who returns his flirtations only too willingly. When a cabaret show is staged in the big reception room in front of assembled guests, things come on top after Schumacher catches Marceau kissing his wife and soon the entire evening descends into chaos with the gamekeeper chasing the poacher cum servant and Christine expressing self-doubts regarding her feelings for André plus the state of her marriage and the fact that the Marquis has been having an affair with Geneviéve for years – something which everyone knew about (even Lisette) except for her. When the wise Octave and Christine meet in the greenhouse to discuss possible plans of leaving their positions and running off to another country, a mix up involving two borrowed coats and the cuckolded gamekeeper is about to seal the fate of André while once again, the Marquis refuses to face facts and instead invites guests for more drinks as if nothing has happened…

Jean Renoir excels as Octave, a man who always seems to stand in between farcical situations which he tries to smooth out with his wit and wisdom despite his occasional insecurities. At the other end of the spectrum we have Marcel Dalio’s ‘Marquis de la Chesnaye’ (a Jewish aristocrat nonetheless), who fires off his cynical remarks about the state of affairs at regular intervals and is living proof that as a man of his status, he can bend ‘the rules of the game’ as he pleases and get away with it.

LA RÉGLE DU JEU is today widely recognised as one of Renoir’s finest and one of the greatest films ever made. BFI have released the film in a brand new 4K restoration on Blu-ray (also available on iTunes and Amazon Prime).
Bonus Material includes newly commissioned commentary by film writers David Jenkins and Trevor Johnston, Leslie Caron introduces the film in 2016 at BFI Southbank, Analysis, the French Communist Party election film depicting political turmoil and the threat of fascism - with input from Renoir and Henri Cartier-Bresson (who can be seen in the film as an English servant), the 1-min newsreel ‘Pheasant Shooting’ from 1913, the 1-min newsreel ‘Society on the Moors’ from 1921 depicting Lord and Lady Savile’s shooting party on the Yorkshire Moors, stills gallery and illustrated booklet (first pressing only).