La Marseillaise

LA MARSEILLAISE is essentially a grand march from Marseilles to Paris, contrasting the lives of the commoners with those of the aristocracy. It tells the story of a battalion of 500 volunteers who arrive in time to capture the Tuilleries, leading to the publication of the Brunswick Manifesto and the overthrow of the monarchy of Louis XVI. With this march, of course, came "La Marseillaise," sung energetically here by the peasants--first as a quiet melody and later as an anthem. Jean Renoir does what he does best in providing a naturalistic, nearly documentary portrayal of the characters. In one sense, LA MARSEILLAISE is something of a Western, its march like the pro...