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The film within the film: Just another cinematic element Orson redefined with "Time on the March" in Citizen Kane, a sequence oozing in that magical Wellesian touch. But how quickly we forget. Five years later in 1946 the film within Welles' The Stranger projected authentic newsreel footage of the Holocaust and all of its horror. Remarkably and curiously these graphic images did not create a commotion or even provoke discussion at the time of release.
Instead this film within the film was largely forgotten, despite belonging to the oeuvre of cinema's master. What could possibly explain such a reaction? Had not enough time elapsed since the atrocities of the Holocaust? Was the world in a state of amnesia? Whatever the case, even Welles' power as a filmmaker could not shake the lasting imprint of this human tragedy.
Time provided the necessary ingredient to the situation. In 1970 Marcel Ophuls, the son of famed director Max made The Sorrow and the Pity for French television. However, this four and a half hour documentary on the Nazi Occupation of France during World War II proved to be too controversial for the television network to air. The film rejects the myth that the French stood up to the Nazis by showing that a majority of French citizens complied with the Nazi agenda. Advertisers were no doubt keeping their distance from this time slot.
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However, this four and a half hour documentary
on the Nazi Occupation of France during World War II
proved to be too controversial for the
television network to air.
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Ultimately the film was shipped off to an artsy French theater where it was thought only students and intellectuals would endure this magna opus. But the film became a tremendous hit, so much so that it was relocated to the first-run Parisian theaters.
Years later, The Sorrow and the Pity still attracts interest of filmgoers. In the Cinematheque Ontario's fall season, tickets for the film sold out in advance. The film returns time and time again as a staple of human memory, as a work that cannot seemingly be forgotten.
In retrospect the success of The Sorrow and the Pity is by no means surprising. Despite focusing on France's passivity to the Nazi Occupation, Ophuls is not out to point any fingers. What a refreshing change - a World War II film that is not political. Instead, the film should be approached as a psychological study and herein lays its greatness. With his unassuming camera, Ophuls is able to capture the various aspects of a people under duress, torn between the ease of collaboration and the hardships associated with resistance.
The film, shot in black and white, gradually centers on the French town of Clermont-Ferrand, using it as a microcosm for the nation. By intertwining a wide array of interviews shot in 1969 of people who lived through the Occupation with wartime newsreel footage and clips from propaganda films of the time, The Sorrow and the Pity succeeds in magnificently merging individual stories with the greater context. We start to understand why people acted as they did, forcing the viewer to contemplate how s/he might react under such circumstances. This introspection is the film's ultimate purpose.
Although Ophuls' camera and editing technique seems to have been graced with an aura of objectivity, the film has been attacked for undermining the force of the French Resistance. Yet while The Sorrow and the Pity may question the strength of the Resistance, it does not disregard the heroism.
Among these heroic resisters is the politician Pierre Mendes-France who tells his story of being jailed by the Vichy government during the Occupation and escaping to join the Free Press in London. Then there is Sir Anthony Eden who tells of Britain's efforts to keep France from collapse. He says, "No one who has not lived through an occupation by Germany can possibly judge." This sentiment sums up the film's running theme, for most of the stories involve the predicament the collaborators faced.
These stories equate to dozens of potential films that exist within The Sorrow and the Pity, which have the narrative force comparable to say Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan. However, Ophuls sticks close to his objective approach, resisting the temptation to over-dramatize events and manipulate spectator emotions. The film's honesty and sincerity creates a more heart-wrenching picture than any sentimental Hollywood production could ever produce.
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The film's honesty and sincerity creates a more
heart-wrenching picture than any sentimental
Hollywood production could ever produce.
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The film proved a force to contend with once again when in 1977 The Sorrow and the Pity supplied the perfect backdrop to Woody Allen's Jewish paranoia in Annie Hall. While the Allen character is obsessed with the film his girlfriend Annie does not share the same enthusiasm. She says, "I'm not in the mood to see a four and a half hour documentary on Nazis."
Her candour should be applauded because the Sorrow and the Pity is not an easy film to watch. Despite the obvious length issue, the film is decisively complex weaving through stories and events in such a manner that requires a great deal of attentiveness on the spectator's behalf. Then of course there is the disturbing content component to grapple with.
But if you're willing to make this sacrifice the film can be a tremendously rewarding experience. Only after you have seen Ophuls' epic can you possibly gage how you might react in such a situation. This is summed up well by Annie Hall who says, The Sorrow and the Pity "makes me feel guilty." To which the Allen character retorts, "That's because it's supposed to."
Back by popular demand The Sorrow and the Pity plays at the Cinematheque Ontario in Toronto on Sunday, March 4 at 1:00pm and on Tuesday, March 6 at 6:30pm.
The Sorrow and the Pity is distributed by "Editions Recontre". Call your local alternative film houses and inquire about the possibility of having the film shown in your area.
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