What is the meaning of the title of The Rules of the Game? What is the "game"? What are the "rules"? Who are the participants? How does one "win" the game? What are the penalties for breaking the rules?
Jean Renoir's Rules of The Game is both a wild and telling film about the wealthy in France just before the outbreak of World War II. The title references a "game" in which there are both winners and losers. The game itself can be described most plainly as life and how to achieve happiness. The way to achieve happiness according to the film is to find a healthy balance between love and friendship. A perfect example from the film is near the end where Octave pronounces his love for Christine after she has already married to Robert, and admitted to loving Andre. Christine says she loves Octave as well but neither shared any romantic scenes in the past. The two were seen as good friends who got along well, but the idea was never presented early in the film, that these two would fall for each other. There is a keen difference between love as a friend and wanting to marry that person and I believe that the definition of the word love is being called into question in this film. Winners of the game learn how to balance love and friendship and by the ending of this movie, none of the characters win the game. The biggest loser, Andre, ends up dead when Shumacher mistakes him for Octave after he runs after Christine who is waiting in the greenhouse. The penalty received by Andre for fooling around with a marred woman was death. This is a very extreme punishment considering the rest of the major characters were also involved in extra martial affairs. There are many different takes on the game of life. While this one is a silly satire on the classic love story, the task of balancing good friendship with love is a struggle that many people face.
The title, the rules of the game, refers to the ridiculous love Ferris wheel that all of the characters go on throughout the film, the main plot of the movie. There are no actual written rules and there doesn’t seem to be any unwritten rules either, however the rule and the game simply seem to be getting what you want. The whole set of characters don’t exactly know what they want but they want someone and the object of the game is to win over the love of the opposite sex by any means possible even by getting them killed at the end. If you lose you end up unhappy, which seems to be the fate of all characters at the end. They start out civil, then the fight (like shumacher and marceau, and jurieau and the host), and then they end up for the most part civil again at the end as they part their separate ways. No one really ends up with anyone as the host gives up Christine, octave leaves, and jurieau dies. Marceau also leaves and lisette still does not seem to show any love for shumacher. It rather sad, however with the way the rest of the movie went in terms of craziness, and who knows who would have ended up with each other had the story gone on. In a sense, they all end up breaking the “rules” as they all kind of cross each other to get who they want. Unfortunately, this creates a lot of anger and tension and causes some of them to do rash things like shumacher. He did not mean to shoot jurieau, however jurieau got caught up in his own mess that shumacher thought was the mess he was in and they ended up crossing paths by accident and intertwining their own messes.
The title “Rules of the Game” is very ironic. There are two games being played simultaneously. One game is love, and the other regards social classes in France during the 1920s. In the game of love, there are no rules. Thus, it isn’t so much a game, as it is a way of life. Every character in the film is a participant in the game, but it is unclear if there is even a winner. The movie emphasizes the chaotic and unfaithful relationships that the characters are involved, but because of everyone’s infidelity, there is no way to determine a winner. As the audience tries to keep track of who is in a relationship or affair with whom, another one is being formed. This depicts the chaotic and selfish lifestyle of those portrayed in the film. The characters are all trying to find love, but in reality, all they find is lust. While most of the characters are involved in a significant relationship, be it marriage or long term boyfriend/girlfriend, they all have light and flirtatious affairs on the side. Subsequently, one might argue that while this is an unusual way to live life, if everyone understands that they and their significant partners all have lighthearted affairs on the side there is an underlying mutual understanding in which most people are happy. As uncharacteristic as this may be, some might argue that it works. The other game being played is the game as it pertains to social classes. This game relates to how in the hierarchical way of life, there is an omnipresent class struggle. The most important rule of this game is that one should never try to leave his or her class and create a life for themselves in an upper and more elite class. There was no room for upward movement and fluidity in social classes during the 1920s in France. Andre Jurieau is the best example of this, as due to his famous flight across the Atlantic, the young pilot attempts to forge a place for himself with the aristocracy. However, because he wasn’t born into the elite class, he cannot move upwards and transcend the barriers. Because he broke the most important rule, he was killed as a result of his actions.
La Regle Du Jue is packed with satire and mockery for the French upper class. Its motives are pun intended and the game that the characters are playing is plain casual relations. For example, Christine hops between the arms of various men like Octave, Andre, Robert and St Aubin , while Lissete is also playing her mistress game with Octave, and Marceau. At the same time, Robert has his own concubine, Genvieve. The rules of the game are obscure but they have some parameters that limit the characters from being to extravagant in their pursuits of each other. Christine’s marriage to Robert, and Lissete’s marriage to Schumacher are hindrances for both Andre and Marceau to claim the married women. Also, Octave and Christine are limited by their apparent class difference, which Lissete openly mentions to Octave when he is about to run away with Christine.
Furthermore, one consequence that comes as a result of crossing the parameters is the death of Jurieu. Before his death, Octave was about to break the rules, but Lissete stops him. Unfortunately, Andre who eventually crosses the parameters and receives the bullet that was intended for Octave. He defied the odds with his 23 hour fight record, but in this game, his career expertise do not help him fly over the consequences; he is no exception to the rules of the game. No one seems to be victorious in this game but we all walk away knowing that the rules of the game are well played by the reserved and level headed.
It's the game of life. No, not the board game, but real life. This film covers many aspects of life, but two in particular, love and class, stand out. But what happens when you follow them, what happens when you dont?
The first aspect of life that this film explores is that of social classes. According to the movie, the rule for this game is that you don't try to be another class, you don't try to impersonate another class and you don't try to mingle with another class. The consequences of this following or not following this rule are quite binary: If you abide by this fairly simple rule, life will be good for you. If you don't, life won't. I can think of two good examples of how life treats people who break this rule. First is Jurieux. He isn't part of the upper crust. He comes from a more humble background, but he tries to be aristocratic. What happens to him? He dies. Second is Marceau. He is of the lowest type of person, a poacher. He dreams of being a domestic. He tries to become a domestic, but in the end, his mingling with the elite results in him going back to poaching.
The second part of the game is that of love. The rules on this one are a bit more tricky, and involve the rules of life. The general theme seems to be that an affair is perfectly acceptable within a single class. An aristocrat can have an affair with another aristocrat, and it be acceptable. For example Robert and Geneviève. But when an inter-class affair occurs, it breaks the rules and the consequences are dire. Again I turn to Jurieux. He is having an affair with Christine, which is against the rules. How does life play out for him. He gets shot.
I feel that the reason for the name of the movie Rules of the Game is to present the rules of which the main high class characters in the film live their lives by. This game of course is the game of life, and these members of high class society abide by them in an effort to fit the mold of being a rich person in society. The participants in this case are everyone in the film from the pilot to the rich estate owner.
To win this game however one must do whatever they can whether it be moral or immoral to win. In this case these immoral acts come in the form of affairs and ultimately a mistaken murder. Overall the game must be won by any means necessary because it is the only way for those who are playing the game to survive. The penalties for not following these rules of the game can end in disaster much like the ending for the pilot in the film Rules of the Game. To survive one must subject themselves to the rules of the game and ultimately be controlled by set laws.
"The Rules of the Game" plays with the idea that life and love are nothing more than games with rules that each person must try to go by or else face the consequences if the rules are broken. The “game” is how to live and love without stepping outside the boundaries that society has set in place. The “rules” are simple in concept but are made complex by human emotions. For example, a citizen of the upper class may love as many people as he or she wishes, as long as they are all in the upper class as well. Once that citizen attempts to have an affair with a citizen of lower class, everything begins to snowball downhill. In addition, a lower class citizen sharing a romance with an upper class citizen is inconceivable and improper. Another “rule” is that lower class citizens are not allowed to take things to the extreme or make certain things public. Oh and here’s another one: upper class citizens are really not supposed to invite lower class citizens to upper class festivities or parties. The participants of the “game” are none other than the main characters of "The Rules of the Game": Jurieux, Christine, Robert, Octave, Lisette, Genevieve, Schumacher, and Marceau. And the crazy part is that each character has his/her own little problem to worry about throughout the film. The other crazy part is that none of the characters are able to keep their wits about them in terms of making up their minds and being satisfied with the current situation. However, as seen at the end of the film, it seems that none of the characters can ever truly be satisfied, as they always want more or simply break the rules of the game. Thus, it’s safe to say that there is no true way to “win” the game of life and love, because lust and greed take control of each character’s actions and prevent them from acting rationally. And, lastly, the penalties for breaking the rules of the game are both cruel and debatable. The largest penalty is witnessed at the end of the film, when Jurieux is “accidentally” shot and killed. Less serious penalties included embarrassing one’s self in public, broken hearts, and a fight that erupted out of pure jealousy. Let’s be honest here, the whole love cycle that took place throughout this film was absolutely nuts. So here’s a rule that we should all do our best to abide by in order to prevent that nonsense from happening in our own lives: stick to one person, okay?
The “rules” of the game are the unspoken guidelines of the “game” of dating and love. In the movie we saw that many of the competitors didn’t follow the rules or come anywhere close and they ended up having to learn the hard way that the results of breaking the rules is the loss of a friend or sometimes their lives, in the case of Andrew. The participants in the game from the movie are literally every character. Now there are a few different ways to win the game depending on what you want exactly. The first is that they get the member of the opposite sex to fall totally in love with them and get them to leave whoever else they are with to get with them. The second is to just get with the member of the opposite sex physically a few times. The movie is an exaggerated portrayal of what happens in real life (let’s be honest in real life there are almost no love octagons in real life). A few examples in the movie that describe what I’ve previously described is when the grounds keeper loses the game and his wife to the newly hired house keeper, who was formerly a poacher. Another example is the pilot who lost the game the moment he died because of confusion and jealousy; jealousy is obviously another possible penalty of breaking the rules of the game.
I feel the reason for the movie’s title, The Rules of the Game, was given mainly to allude to the greater or deeper meaning which the film attempts to portray. At a first glance Jean Renoir’s Rules of the Game is a film which seeks to mock the lives and antics of the upper class members of society. Renoir portrays his characters in a “self-absorbed” light interacting and associating in what occasionally feels to be a completely separate world from that of which we know. A world which seems to revolve around things quite different from the norm such as acting off of sheer impulses, love versus lust, and lying to uphold an image of what’s considered by society as “happiness”. Renoir’s unorthodox film seeks to depict not only the lives and values of the upper class but the values for which the world holds dear. The Rules of the Game serves as a guide for how to make it in life. Its secrets including, cheating, lying, manipulating, etc.; honesty acting as one of the furthest character traits from what makes a successful member of society. In a greater scheme of things, Renoir’s Rules of the Game is a testament to how society works in reality.
Jean Renoir's Rules of The Game is both a wild and telling film about the wealthy in France just before the outbreak of World War II. The title references a "game" in which there are both winners and losers. The game itself can be described most plainly as life and how to achieve happiness. The way to achieve happiness according to the film is to find a healthy balance between love and friendship. A perfect example from the film is near the end where Octave pronounces his love for Christine after she has already married to Robert, and admitted to loving Andre. Christine says she loves Octave as well but neither shared any romantic scenes in the past. The two were seen as good friends who got along well, but the idea was never presented early in the film, that these two would fall for each other. There is a keen difference between love as a friend and wanting to marry that person and I believe that the definition of the word love is being called into question in this film. Winners of the game learn how to balance love and friendship and by the ending of this movie, none of the characters win the game. The biggest loser, Andre, ends up dead when Shumacher mistakes him for Octave after he runs after Christine who is waiting in the greenhouse. The penalty received by Andre for fooling around with a marred woman was death. This is a very extreme punishment considering the rest of the major characters were also involved in extra martial affairs. There are many different takes on the game of life. While this one is a silly satire on the classic love story, the task of balancing good friendship with love is a struggle that many people face.
ReplyDeleteThe title, the rules of the game, refers to the ridiculous love Ferris wheel that all of the characters go on throughout the film, the main plot of the movie. There are no actual written rules and there doesn’t seem to be any unwritten rules either, however the rule and the game simply seem to be getting what you want. The whole set of characters don’t exactly know what they want but they want someone and the object of the game is to win over the love of the opposite sex by any means possible even by getting them killed at the end. If you lose you end up unhappy, which seems to be the fate of all characters at the end. They start out civil, then the fight (like shumacher and marceau, and jurieau and the host), and then they end up for the most part civil again at the end as they part their separate ways. No one really ends up with anyone as the host gives up Christine, octave leaves, and jurieau dies. Marceau also leaves and lisette still does not seem to show any love for shumacher. It rather sad, however with the way the rest of the movie went in terms of craziness, and who knows who would have ended up with each other had the story gone on. In a sense, they all end up breaking the “rules” as they all kind of cross each other to get who they want. Unfortunately, this creates a lot of anger and tension and causes some of them to do rash things like shumacher. He did not mean to shoot jurieau, however jurieau got caught up in his own mess that shumacher thought was the mess he was in and they ended up crossing paths by accident and intertwining their own messes.
ReplyDeleteThe title “Rules of the Game” is very ironic. There are two games being played simultaneously. One game is love, and the other regards social classes in France during the 1920s. In the game of love, there are no rules. Thus, it isn’t so much a game, as it is a way of life. Every character in the film is a participant in the game, but it is unclear if there is even a winner. The movie emphasizes the chaotic and unfaithful relationships that the characters are involved, but because of everyone’s infidelity, there is no way to determine a winner. As the audience tries to keep track of who is in a relationship or affair with whom, another one is being formed. This depicts the chaotic and selfish lifestyle of those portrayed in the film. The characters are all trying to find love, but in reality, all they find is lust. While most of the characters are involved in a significant relationship, be it marriage or long term boyfriend/girlfriend, they all have light and flirtatious affairs on the side. Subsequently, one might argue that while this is an unusual way to live life, if everyone understands that they and their significant partners all have lighthearted affairs on the side there is an underlying mutual understanding in which most people are happy. As uncharacteristic as this may be, some might argue that it works. The other game being played is the game as it pertains to social classes. This game relates to how in the hierarchical way of life, there is an omnipresent class struggle. The most important rule of this game is that one should never try to leave his or her class and create a life for themselves in an upper and more elite class. There was no room for upward movement and fluidity in social classes during the 1920s in France. Andre Jurieau is the best example of this, as due to his famous flight across the Atlantic, the young pilot attempts to forge a place for himself with the aristocracy. However, because he wasn’t born into the elite class, he cannot move upwards and transcend the barriers. Because he broke the most important rule, he was killed as a result of his actions.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat Rules what game?
ReplyDeleteLa Regle Du Jue is packed with satire and mockery for the French upper class. Its motives are pun intended and the game that the characters are playing is plain casual relations. For example, Christine hops between the arms of various men like Octave, Andre, Robert and St Aubin , while Lissete is also playing her mistress game with Octave, and Marceau. At the same time, Robert has his own concubine, Genvieve. The rules of the game are obscure but they have some parameters that limit the characters from being to extravagant in their pursuits of each other. Christine’s marriage to Robert, and Lissete’s marriage to Schumacher are hindrances for both Andre and Marceau to claim the married women. Also, Octave and Christine are limited by their apparent class difference, which Lissete openly mentions to Octave when he is about to run away with Christine.
Furthermore, one consequence that comes as a result of crossing the parameters is the death of Jurieu. Before his death, Octave was about to break the rules, but Lissete stops him. Unfortunately, Andre who eventually crosses the parameters and receives the bullet that was intended for Octave. He defied the odds with his 23 hour fight record, but in this game, his career expertise do not help him fly over the consequences; he is no exception to the rules of the game. No one seems to be victorious in this game but we all walk away knowing that the rules of the game are well played by the reserved and level headed.
It's the game of life. No, not the board game, but real life. This film covers many aspects of life, but two in particular, love and class, stand out. But what happens when you follow them, what happens when you dont?
ReplyDeleteThe first aspect of life that this film explores is that of social classes. According to the movie, the rule for this game is that you don't try to be another class, you don't try to impersonate another class and you don't try to mingle with another class. The consequences of this following or not following this rule are quite binary: If you abide by this fairly simple rule, life will be good for you. If you don't, life won't. I can think of two good examples of how life treats people who break this rule. First is Jurieux. He isn't part of the upper crust. He comes from a more humble background, but he tries to be aristocratic. What happens to him? He dies. Second is Marceau. He is of the lowest type of person, a poacher. He dreams of being a domestic. He tries to become a domestic, but in the end, his mingling with the elite results in him going back to poaching.
The second part of the game is that of love. The rules on this one are a bit more tricky, and involve the rules of life. The general theme seems to be that an affair is perfectly acceptable within a single class. An aristocrat can have an affair with another aristocrat, and it be acceptable. For example Robert and Geneviève. But when an inter-class affair occurs, it breaks the rules and the consequences are dire. Again I turn to Jurieux. He is having an affair with Christine, which is against the rules. How does life play out for him. He gets shot.
I feel that the reason for the name of the movie Rules of the Game is to present the rules of which the main high class characters in the film live their lives by. This game of course is the game of life, and these members of high class society abide by them in an effort to fit the mold of being a rich person in society. The participants in this case are everyone in the film from the pilot to the rich estate owner.
ReplyDeleteTo win this game however one must do whatever they can whether it be moral or immoral to win. In this case these immoral acts come in the form of affairs and ultimately a mistaken murder. Overall the game must be won by any means necessary because it is the only way for those who are playing the game to survive. The penalties for not following these rules of the game can end in disaster much like the ending for the pilot in the film Rules of the Game. To survive one must subject themselves to the rules of the game and ultimately be controlled by set laws.
"The Rules of the Game" plays with the idea that life and love are nothing more than games with rules that each person must try to go by or else face the consequences if the rules are broken. The “game” is how to live and love without stepping outside the boundaries that society has set in place. The “rules” are simple in concept but are made complex by human emotions. For example, a citizen of the upper class may love as many people as he or she wishes, as long as they are all in the upper class as well. Once that citizen attempts to have an affair with a citizen of lower class, everything begins to snowball downhill. In addition, a lower class citizen sharing a romance with an upper class citizen is inconceivable and improper. Another “rule” is that lower class citizens are not allowed to take things to the extreme or make certain things public. Oh and here’s another one: upper class citizens are really not supposed to invite lower class citizens to upper class festivities or parties. The participants of the “game” are none other than the main characters of "The Rules of the Game": Jurieux, Christine, Robert, Octave, Lisette, Genevieve, Schumacher, and Marceau. And the crazy part is that each character has his/her own little problem to worry about throughout the film. The other crazy part is that none of the characters are able to keep their wits about them in terms of making up their minds and being satisfied with the current situation. However, as seen at the end of the film, it seems that none of the characters can ever truly be satisfied, as they always want more or simply break the rules of the game. Thus, it’s safe to say that there is no true way to “win” the game of life and love, because lust and greed take control of each character’s actions and prevent them from acting rationally. And, lastly, the penalties for breaking the rules of the game are both cruel and debatable. The largest penalty is witnessed at the end of the film, when Jurieux is “accidentally” shot and killed. Less serious penalties included embarrassing one’s self in public, broken hearts, and a fight that erupted out of pure jealousy. Let’s be honest here, the whole love cycle that took place throughout this film was absolutely nuts. So here’s a rule that we should all do our best to abide by in order to prevent that nonsense from happening in our own lives: stick to one person, okay?
ReplyDeleteThe “rules” of the game are the unspoken guidelines of the “game” of dating and love. In the movie we saw that many of the competitors didn’t follow the rules or come anywhere close and they ended up having to learn the hard way that the results of breaking the rules is the loss of a friend or sometimes their lives, in the case of Andrew. The participants in the game from the movie are literally every character. Now there are a few different ways to win the game depending on what you want exactly. The first is that they get the member of the opposite sex to fall totally in love with them and get them to leave whoever else they are with to get with them. The second is to just get with the member of the opposite sex physically a few times. The movie is an exaggerated portrayal of what happens in real life (let’s be honest in real life there are almost no love octagons in real life). A few examples in the movie that describe what I’ve previously described is when the grounds keeper loses the game and his wife to the newly hired house keeper, who was formerly a poacher. Another example is the pilot who lost the game the moment he died because of confusion and jealousy; jealousy is obviously another possible penalty of breaking the rules of the game.
ReplyDeleteI feel the reason for the movie’s title, The Rules of the Game, was given mainly to allude to the greater or deeper meaning which the film attempts to portray. At a first glance Jean Renoir’s Rules of the Game is a film which seeks to mock the lives and antics of the upper class members of society. Renoir portrays his characters in a “self-absorbed” light interacting and associating in what occasionally feels to be a completely separate world from that of which we know. A world which seems to revolve around things quite different from the norm such as acting off of sheer impulses, love versus lust, and lying to uphold an image of what’s considered by society as “happiness”. Renoir’s unorthodox film seeks to depict not only the lives and values of the upper class but the values for which the world holds dear. The Rules of the Game serves as a guide for how to make it in life. Its secrets including, cheating, lying, manipulating, etc.; honesty acting as one of the furthest character traits from what makes a successful member of society. In a greater scheme of things, Renoir’s Rules of the Game is a testament to how society works in reality.
ReplyDelete