Still Life by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Still Life

Page 121

remark and shows his empathy for the people he was simultaneously criticizing. Richard Roud praised Renoir's role in the film, observing that Renoir's honesty compelled him to include his own role in his social criticism. ‘He did not wish to stand outside. And Renoir/Octave serves as the standard against which reality and fiction can be measured.’ In his original outline for the film, Renoir said he intended all the characters to be sincere and that the film would have no villains.

Renoir said André was ‘the victim, who, trying to fit into a world in which he does not belong, fails to respect the rules of the game,’ and that André thought he could shatter the rules by a world flight, while Christine thought she could do the same by following her heart. The ‘rules’ of the film's title are its only villain. Renoir said ‘The world is made up of cliques ... Each of these cliques has its customs, its mores, indeed, its own language. To put it simply, each has its rules, and these rules determine the game.’ Renoir said all human activity is ‘subject to social protocols that are less apparent than, but just as strict as, those practiced by Louis XIV.’ Renoir's son Alain said the film continues to be relevant and popular because it shows the artificial joy of the modern age in contrast to the rules of that or any age.