La Grande Illusion (1937)

A lot has to be said for a movie that imagines people as real people; that portrays enemies as really allies forced into conflict by the clashing interests of their motherlands. When you think of prison escape movies, you imagine the round-up of prisoners planning the escape, and the ruthless, cruel guards and their warden. Much of this is true in 1994's Shawshank Redemption, but one must also remember that that prison contained actual convicts, not prisoners of war.

The French POWs are treated rather fairly. When Capt. de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and Lt. Maréchal (Jean Gabin) are first captured, they are treated to a nice dinner by the somewhat formidable Captain von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), and then sent to a prison camp where the guards are cordial and where rules aren't necessarily strict. Any POW caught escaping is shot on sight, of course, but they are not, otherwise, treated inhumanely.

Of course, the POWs still want to be free; it is a common need of the human soul to have freedom, and so the soldiers do all they can to escape the confines of their prison. Upon Maréchal's first night in prison he discovers his flat mates have been tunneling, little by little, a way out, dumping the excess dirt outside during gardening duties. A funny scene takes place as a Frenchman, burrowing out, loses consciousness due to lack of oxygen, and when he is retrieved is fed cognac. When the liquor touches his lips, he reawakens and cradles the bottle as if he were a child drinking milk.

And the movie has a clever sense of timing. On the night of the proposed escape, a camp change is made, and flat mates are separated. Another touch of humanity is displayed by the guards as they load the POWs onto trucks to venture to a new location: "May you see your wives soon." It affirms that no one likes war, and most wars are not a necessity; people would rather coexist in peace, though it is ironic that most humans are unable to do so.

The movie has a goofy air about it, and one particular moment that is both somewhat silly and rather poignant comes when the men receive costumes to put on a show with. They catch wind that women wear their hair short now ("It's like sleeping with a boy," the cognac-loving Frenchman exclaims), and then pause as they witness one of the men dressed up in a woman's dress. Everyone falls silent. It highlights the repression that goes on in prison, the need to escape, and the lack of a female companion for men who go to war (more specifically then then now).

Maréchal and Boeldieu are put under Rauffensteins rule, who runs what is described as an "inescapable fortress." He also comes equipped this time with a silver plate to support his fractured spine, becoming part machine almost and carrying with him a menacing air. He speaks in a slow drawl and is burned all over, "which explains the white gloves," he muses. Rauffenstein is the epitome of the evil prison warden, yet he is not. He respects Boeldieu as a fellow servicemen and, when a raid on Boeldieu's room is done, trusts his word that nothing illegal is there (it is a lie). There are also random moments when both men speak to each other in excellent English.

The theme of human kindness is best represented in two scenes near the end: Maréchal and another inmate, Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio) escape while Boeldieu attracts the attention of all the guards as he makes another escape. Rauffenstein pleads with Boeldieu to come down, to not force his hand and make him shot him. But Boeldieu continues onward, and Rauffenstein shoots him down. Later, in a hospital wing, Rauffenstein apologizes for what he had to, and Boeldieu simply replies, "I would have done the same."

The other happens after Maréchal and Rosenthal escape successfully and find shelter with a widowed German woman, Elsa (Dita Parlo) and her daughter. Her loneliness cries for recognition from someone, as her husband was killed in the war, and the common bond shared between two should-be enemies is beautifully rendered to dust here, as they grow to love each other.

I have spoken perhaps too much of the film's plot, and nowadays some will probably see it's optimistic view of humanity as dated and not as revolutionary. The film holds my attention throughout and is filled with characters that I truly grow to love and care for. There are no villains, except for perhaps the war that rages in the background, but instead people being people, kind, honest human beings. There are too few movies that triumph the human spirit, but this is one of them.