French cinema in the late 1930’s defined strict contrasts between the upper and lower-classes of France. To the lavish upper-class society of France, love is portrayed as a comedy, while to the poor working class, love is nothing more than a despairing tragedy that drains all optimism. Two 1939 films that depict the stark class divisions very well are Marcel Carne’s Le Jour Se Leve (Daybreak) and Jean Renoir’s La Regle du jeu (The Rules of the Game).The character’s offbeat and dynamic relationships with one another are what embody the reoccurring theme of class division.
The lower class characters in these films define what love means to them and their social class through their dialogue, mannerisms, and the display of infatuation that they devote to their lovers. …show more content…
They both take the backburner to the women who the men really want. They can both be considered lower-middle class woman, because they both had sturdy jobs; however, they do not live lavish lifestyles. Clara and Lisette are actually romantically hurt the least in these films. Clara admitted she was alright with Francois leaving her for Francoise. Lisette also showed no remorse for her husband Schumacher losing his job. These two middle class woman are the only characters who do not have tragedy strike down on them.
Le Jour Se Leve, does not have characters that represent the extremely wealthy like La Regle du jeu does. Robert de La Chesnaye and his wife Christine are the only two prominent characters who fit into this category. They both deal with issues of affairs that are just as serious as any of the characters in either film; yet, they handled them very differently. Besides Chesnaye and Jureiu’s little scruff up, he and Christine except each other’s adulterous promiscuity rather openly and without it letting it hurt them too much. There nonchalant attitudes provides the comedy in La Regle du
The lower class characters in these films define what love means to them and their social class through their dialogue, mannerisms, and the display of infatuation that they devote to their lovers. …show more content…
They both take the backburner to the women who the men really want. They can both be considered lower-middle class woman, because they both had sturdy jobs; however, they do not live lavish lifestyles. Clara and Lisette are actually romantically hurt the least in these films. Clara admitted she was alright with Francois leaving her for Francoise. Lisette also showed no remorse for her husband Schumacher losing his job. These two middle class woman are the only characters who do not have tragedy strike down on them.
Le Jour Se Leve, does not have characters that represent the extremely wealthy like La Regle du jeu does. Robert de La Chesnaye and his wife Christine are the only two prominent characters who fit into this category. They both deal with issues of affairs that are just as serious as any of the characters in either film; yet, they handled them very differently. Besides Chesnaye and Jureiu’s little scruff up, he and Christine except each other’s adulterous promiscuity rather openly and without it letting it hurt them too much. There nonchalant attitudes provides the comedy in La Regle du