The Grand Illusion - Jessica Nguyen

This shot in the film shows one of the many underlying and overlaying illusions created by Renoir in “The Grand Illusion.” This shot has a sense of normal life: the men are at a house with coffee made, wearing pedestrian clothing. There is no sign of a war going on anywhere around them. They also give off the illusion of blended racial and social barriers, as the two men, seemingly friends or family in the shot, are from very different backgrounds, working-class Frenchman and a wealthy Jew, which was not usual for Europe at that time. It may have been a step towards what Renoir believed to be the new form in European culture, a place where social status and background did not matter or separate people. And yet, there is the window separating the two men; one is inside the house, while the other leans leisurely against an old wagon outside, showing that there is some difference and distance between the two still, maybe that they have not forgotten the war even while they are away in this place of solitude. While Rosenthal is the dominant in this frame, taking up most of the center, the eye also goes to Maréchal since he is facing us and we see a full shot of his body, unlike Rosenthal whose back we see in this over-the-shoulder shot. You would think the size difference would mean an inequality between the men, but they are set almost parallel to each other (Maréchal is leaning slightly), a sign of unity and similarity. This once again tells of Renoir’s illusion of equality in Europe and the fall of social status as important in Europe after the war.