NR | 1h 43min | Drama | 1943
Jean Renoir’s film opens with a close-up of a war memorial in the middle of a forlorn town square. The camera gazes at its inscription, “1914–1918: In memory of those who died to bring peace to the world.” That gaze falls to a newspaper on the grass below, its headline fluttering in the breeze: “Hitler Invades.” With that brief comment on a Europe condemned to repeat mistakes of the past, the camera watches marching soldiers, and rolling tanks suddenly overrun the square. Now, something else flutters atop the city hall: a Nazi flag.
