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?
I believe that the title “The Rules of the Game” refers to the rules of love and these rules work in the game of life. Specifically, I believe that the rules have to do with how one manages his or her love life and how one acts on his or her inner passions. I think that the film expresses that in the French bourgeois society, it was a widely understood notion that individuals cheat on their husbands and wives; everyone has lovers and hidden romances. In the film, there are love triangles left and right—Christine, Andre, Octave, Robert, Genevieve- you name a character and I guarantee he or she is in a triangle. However, I believe that another understood “rule” in this society, is that nobody acknowledges or talks about this cheating in fear of appearing vulnerable or shameful in the public eye. This whole concept is a bit ironic as everybody is participating in this unspoken activity!
I believe the game referenced in the title is the game of life. Everyone in the film wants to appear as if they have everything in their lives under control, despite their true inner conflicts. The game referenced is the challenge of hiding what you are truly feeling and withholding inner secrets in order to maintain status and honor in society. Following the rules of the game means that one must control and cover his or her true passions in order to conform to the social and political expectations of society.
Andre, the pilot, is the one man who does not follow the rules of the game. Andre pursues his love for Christine openly, unconcerned with the public’s perception of his actions. He chooses to tell Christine’s husband, Robert, face to face and man to man, that he wishes to run away with Christine. Whether due to accident or true murder, at the end of the film, Andre ends up dead. I believe this was the films way of expressing that if you chose not to follow the rules of the game, there will always be consequences; unfortunately for Andre, this consequence was fatal.
The ‘rules referred to in the title, The Rules of the Game, are the rules of love and conduct in high society. The film belongs to the style of Poetic Realism where there is usually one character who is some sort of outsider who must face a great challenge or set of obstacles. In The Rules of the Game, the outsider is the character of Andre Jurieu, and the obstacles are the Rules. These ‘rules’ consist of a social atmosphere where nearly everyone seems to be involved with everybody else; though these trysts are relatively common knowledge, it is also an unspoken rule that no one talks about them. For example Robert de Chesnaye is having an affair with Genevieve while he is married to a woman named Christine; Christine has even known about the affair before they were married! Everyone in the plot, upper class and low, is mired in a web of relationships and affairs so tangled that to say ‘love triangles’ does not come close to doing it justice; perhaps imagine a ‘love star-of-David,’ where each intersection is a character. This web of lies is the obstacle into which Andre unwittingly stumbles. By contrast, Andre is essentially a sincere man who only loves Christine and whose only goal is to attain her avowed love in return. He has no interest in other women, though a woman named Jackie throws herself at him; he remains implacable and honest about his pursuit. True to form, Christine, who is already married, agrees to run away with two different men in scarce as many minutes; one of these men is Andre, the other, his friend Octave. Due to the fallout from yet another love triangle, Andre is mistaken for Octave and shot. The interloper who made the mistake of being honest and honorable amidst a veritable den of thieves has finally paid the price for his disturbances.
Rather than providing a directly literal interpretation of the title as it correlates to cut and dry elements of the film, I would like to suggest that the title, "The Rules of the Game", is a somewhat sarcastic reflection on the petty, cynical mood of the film. One of the most prevalent concerns of the film and its director, Renoir, is the way in which characters interact socially when the nature of their relationships are uncertain. Renoir has a keen focus on mannerisms and how these play in to social interactions. The viewer latches on to these mannerisms like as Robert's suspicious frown, Octave's easy-going grin, Andre's focused, shy demeanor, and Christine's disciplined fake smile. When the plot of the film develops and the social relations between the characters get stretched to the breaking point, we see these mannerisms amplified into reactions. Each character attempts to hold his/her own as he/she witnesses the rapidly changing landscape of friendship and love. As their lovers are snatched away and they become friends with those unlikely candidates who can recognize a mutual self-interest, the characters continuously plot their next moves. After being thrown out of Robert's Chateau for recklessly chasing Marceau over an affair he was having with Lissette, Schumacher almost immediately unites with Marceau in an a mutual hatred of Octave, another of Lissette's lovers. Hours before, Marceau, the lowly proletariat shoe shiner, allied with Robert in a pact against Andre for attempting to steal Christine, Robert's wife. Meanwhile, Lissette attempted to secretly aid Marceau in escaping from her husband Schumacher by boldly lying to Schumacher's face when he suggested they move out. Hers is an obvious act of deceptive appeasement. She keeps her intentions secret from those closest to her. She keeps her motives even more hidden. She is not merely behaving; she is acting, deceiving, plotting, bluffing, and, shall we say, playing a game. Every single character, with the notable exception of Andre, is participating in this circuitous behavior, this charade. Even the good natured Octave who, for the majority of the film, attempted to help his friend Andre reconvene with Christine, ends up carrying a secret motive, his own love for Christine. Each character tries to misleadingly behave as transparent when associating with others, but the viewer is objectively aware of each character's true circumstance. To some extent, one could argue that the characters are so absorbed in their own deceptive ways and secret intentions that they don't even realize everyone else is doing the same thing. They all believe they are in control. They are all serving selfish motives (except for possibly Octave who helps Andre). The title of the film is more a smug reflection of Renoir on the subject of the film than a declarative statement on what the film is or is about. The characters in the film do not conceive of the game that is their social interactions as the audience does from our distant perspective. The viewer sees the film played out as if all the characters are sitting around a high stakes poker table. Andre, the one who doesn't know how to bluff, loses out the quickest. Robert and Christine, the masters of appearances, come out on top. We see it all as petty and absurd from our removed perspective, but there is no doubt that the wealthy Marquee knows how to put on a show and swing the contestants.
One interpretation of “the game” is the game of love. I agree with Annie when she mentions keeping affairs a secret. That French culture at the time was clearly known for the numerous affairs and lovers but those affairs were never talked about. Christine and her husband both have separate affairs and Shumacher’s wife is having an affair with Marceau, and everyone knows about these affairs but no one ever talks about them or acknowledges them. Everything is seems to be working just fine, not talking about the affairs, until Andre comes and doesn’t follow the rules. The rules being to keep everything quiet and sneak around. Andre, instead, wants to run off with Christine and tell the Marquis of his plan because to him that is the right thing to do.
“The Rules of the Game” simply means the game of love and secret affairs. All of the characters in the film are participants because they all play a part in the game, whether as the cheaters or the lovers. I would say to win the game, one could not acknowledge the affairs he or she was having and to lose would obviously be to do the opposite. Part of playing this game means abiding by the rules because as we find out at the end, the consequences are not simply to bring to light an affair. Andre constantly broke the rules and finally at the end of the film he is mistaken for Octave, who had an affair with Schumacher’s wife. So Schumacher shoots Andre, thinking he is Octave, and kills him right then and there. This sends the message that their system of keeping quiet, or this game they all seem to play, cannot be disrupted and if it is, there will be grave consequences.
The "Rules" are the general social structure and norms of the class of people depicted in the film, the French bourgeoisie. The rules are much different from probably what are our own views on faithfulness and matrimony, or the views of Middle America today. I think that the biggest "rule" of the characters was not necessarily about who loves whom, or how many lovers one has, but instead it is one's conduct in front of other people in respect to his/her love life. Andre is the outsider of the film, or the "rule breaker." I don't think it is because he was in love with another man's wife, Christine. This seems to be a common occurrence. I think he is a "rule-breaker" because of his conduct towards Christine and his romantic situation. He is open and upfront about the fact that he is in love with her, and wants to be with her in the proper way, by respectfully telling her husband, Robert, and requesting that the two divorce. This move is a nuisance to the existing social change. Andre would have been better off having a private affair with Christine, while recognizing her marriage and putting on a happy face in public. The fact that he did not do this makes him a "rule breaker." I think it is also interesting to note that both upper-class "bourgeoisie" audiences, and working class audiences booed the film in theatres. Is it because the disagree with the narrative it presents on high French society? Did they think it falsely represented their people? Or did they recognize that it was telling the truth, and they didn't like it because hearing the truth hurt?
The title of the film, The Rules of the Game, is a sarcastic social commentary on the French upper class. The “rules” that they are referring to are the rules one must adhere to in order to be a part of their society. Namely, being lying, conniving, secretive, and unfaithful. Near all of the characters in the film bend to these rules in all aspects of their lives. The one exception is the pilot, Andre Jurieux. He lives a life that is entirely opposite from the “rules”. He lives a life of honesty, even when it seems inappropriate. Andre is not afraid to admit what he wants out of life and he goes after it. This is entirely unlike the twisted web of lies the bourgeois finds himself or herself in. These high society people are having affairs left and right. Their significant others know full well that these affairs are happening but nobody cares as long as nobody talks about it out in the open. Andre is thrust into this society on his honest journey and completely clashes with their lifestyle and their “rules”. In the end, Andre ends up dead for his inability to comply with the rules. This entire film is a sort of satire on the society it depicts. As a result after seeing the movies the title sounds more sarcastic than matter of fact. It is for this reason that these people’s lives are referred to as a “game” within the title. The characters lack authenticity and are literally playing around in their own lives. It is for these reasons that the title of the film offers a somewhat snarky depiction of the society it depicts.
The game could be seen as a game of love because all of the love affairs that are present in the film. Christine is married to Robert however she is having an affair with Andre and harbors feelings for Octave. Robert, although married to Christine, is having an affair Genevieve. Lisette is the wife of Schumacher, however she is having an affair with Marceau. The rule of this game is that everyone can sleep with whoever they want, as long as they don’t get caught. Only when someone gets caught in infidelity do they get in trouble. Schumacher open fired on Marceau when he caught him with his wife. Also Robert attacked Andre when he caught him with his wife. Andre’s death could also be seen as punishment for not keeping his affair a secret. However, the game can also be seen as a game of social norms. It seems that everyone in the film had their own certain place in society. There was the elite, which included Christine, Genevieve, and Robert, and there was the servants, which included Schumacher, Lisette, and Marceau. The rules of this game could be seen as for you to stay in your place in society so order would be present. However, Andres did not fit in society or follow its rules. He was an aviator, and at some points a celebrity, who’s affairs with a woman caused chaos to run rampant. In some ways his death could be seen as being necessary to bringing order back into society.
I think that the title refers to the game of love simply because love is the central theme of the movie. While others have suggested that the word 'game' could refer the game of life, I would disagree because it isn't a movie about life, it's a movie about love and more specifically, love affairs. While Annie makes a good point about everyone constantly trying to come off as if they have everything in their lives under control, the central theme is relationships and affairs. The way that the movie portrays love is like a game; people are constantly having affairs with each other, and each of them would get upset at one another if any of them were to be discovered. For example, when Robert discovers that his wife is having an affair, he shoots Andre, even though he is in a love triangle himself. That said, the rule of these affairs or 'the game' is to satisfy your desires as much as you can without getting caught by anyone who isn't involved. There were several times in the movie where there were multiple people in one room who knew about affairs that were going on, but none of them said a word. It's as if everyone knows what's going on, but they don't want to ask about it because they know it's true. When Andre gave away his affair, he broke the rules and lost the game. The consequence of this was of course, his own death.
The rules of the game seem to be the rules of social engagement. It is apparent throughout the film when people are doing things that follow the rules and when people are doing things that don’t follow the rules. Unfortunately the rules of this time period seem to be very skewed, as the only honest seeming person gets killed for his actions. The filmmaker clearly has a very negative view on society and used this film to comment on it, as it seems that he views people as morally corrupt and adds to that by saying those who are not morally corrupt fail to get what they want (Andre being the example of that, as well as Octave a little). The fact that in the end, Robert is still with Christine even though he had cheated on his wife for a seemingly extended period of time, speaks to the way the filmmaker wanted to express society as being morally corrupt. It seemed that one “wins” the game by being the most ruthless and the most morally corrupt. Not only does Robert cheat on his wife, but he also lies to cover up Andre’s death. The moral of this film seems to be whoever cheats and lies the most gets what they want, which is a very dark and twisted take away, so it is evident that the filmmaker was trying to point this out to their viewers. I believe that the rules of the game was an entertaining film and the different “rules of the game” that seemed very corrupt provided for some entertainment; however, the film did rub off as dark and twisted at the end, as the only honest, or likable, character is killed at the end of the film.
I agree that the rules of the game seem to be the rules of conduct in an upper class, French chateau. The game is more obvious, the setting and venue of Robert's country estate, but the rules become more confusing. I think that the overall point of the movie is to show that in this particular game, there are no rules, anything goes until somebody gets hurt. This can be seen in a number of scenes in the movie when characters contradict themselves and break some rules that they supported earlier. For instance, Octave brings Andre to the party and vows to help him win Christine. He seems at this moment to support what's right and he wants to help his friend. More than this, he seems to believe in true love. However, towards the end of the film, he goes against Andre and is about to run off with Christine. This goes against what he knows his right and he's betraying his friend. It is unclear whether or not he's in love with Christine, but it seems a little spur-of-the-moment and not well thought out.
These contradictions and plot twists as well as the idea that anything goes, shows that there are no rules in this society, which may explain why the characters are so unhappy. In an ideal society, the people are governed by a set of rules, but when there are no rules, the society cannot function properly and that leads to unhappiness and in this case, even violence. This is consistent with Renoir's hatred with the upper class and it makes sense that the story points out flaws, especially that the only rule to the game is that there are no rules.
How could I resist to agree to all of my fellow classmates? Seriously speaking, I do agree that the rules of the game is a game about life. Within life, the most important "sub - game" if we can call it that would be love. I think that the rules for each person vary depending on their situation but the overall themes of the game stay the same throughout the different players. It is about conducting yourself and how you can best uphold yourself in a society that (for our knowledge) is a little crazy. In this game, the game of upstanding your title and your name, they face the difficult challenge of what they really want in life and in love. In the movie we are thrown upon many intertwined love relations that get confusing over time but are the basis for breaking the rules. I believe the rules are conducting yourself in a manner that hides your true feelings towards someone or something that you can't have and with standing that urge to go and get it. One of the most important characters that ends up facing the potential consequences of breaking the rules of the game is Andre. If we were to take Andre's situation, one where he is open about his love for another man's wife and his open plan to run away with her whenever he gets the opportunity. These actions can be viewed upon as breaking the rules of the game. If these were the specific rules and he broke them, the consequence for breaking the rules would end up in death whether that be an accident or an actual murder. This seems very intense, but the game everyone is playing is intense and even though it is portrayed as more of a comedic thing that everyone can find with anyone, love is a very intense feeling and emotion. As Ryan said, there needs to be rules because you can't live and love without any rules and with specific rules comes specific consequences that you might not want to face in the long run, like our friend Andre had to go through.
I believe that the title “The Rules of the Game” refers to the rules of love and these rules work in the game of life. Specifically, I believe that the rules have to do with how one manages his or her love life and how one acts on his or her inner passions. I think that the film expresses that in the French bourgeois society, it was a widely understood notion that individuals cheat on their husbands and wives; everyone has lovers and hidden romances. In the film, there are love triangles left and right—Christine, Andre, Octave, Robert, Genevieve- you name a character and I guarantee he or she is in a triangle. However, I believe that another understood “rule” in this society, is that nobody acknowledges or talks about this cheating in fear of appearing vulnerable or shameful in the public eye. This whole concept is a bit ironic as everybody is participating in this unspoken activity!
ReplyDeleteI believe the game referenced in the title is the game of life. Everyone in the film wants to appear as if they have everything in their lives under control, despite their true inner conflicts. The game referenced is the challenge of hiding what you are truly feeling and withholding inner secrets in order to maintain status and honor in society. Following the rules of the game means that one must control and cover his or her true passions in order to conform to the social and political expectations of society.
Andre, the pilot, is the one man who does not follow the rules of the game. Andre pursues his love for Christine openly, unconcerned with the public’s perception of his actions. He chooses to tell Christine’s husband, Robert, face to face and man to man, that he wishes to run away with Christine. Whether due to accident or true murder, at the end of the film, Andre ends up dead. I believe this was the films way of expressing that if you chose not to follow the rules of the game, there will always be consequences; unfortunately for Andre, this consequence was fatal.
The ‘rules referred to in the title, The Rules of the Game, are the rules of love and conduct in high society. The film belongs to the style of Poetic Realism where there is usually one character who is some sort of outsider who must face a great challenge or set of obstacles. In The Rules of the Game, the outsider is the character of Andre Jurieu, and the obstacles are the Rules. These ‘rules’ consist of a social atmosphere where nearly everyone seems to be involved with everybody else; though these trysts are relatively common knowledge, it is also an unspoken rule that no one talks about them. For example Robert de Chesnaye is having an affair with Genevieve while he is married to a woman named Christine; Christine has even known about the affair before they were married! Everyone in the plot, upper class and low, is mired in a web of relationships and affairs so tangled that to say ‘love triangles’ does not come close to doing it justice; perhaps imagine a ‘love star-of-David,’ where each intersection is a character. This web of lies is the obstacle into which Andre unwittingly stumbles. By contrast, Andre is essentially a sincere man who only loves Christine and whose only goal is to attain her avowed love in return. He has no interest in other women, though a woman named Jackie throws herself at him; he remains implacable and honest about his pursuit. True to form, Christine, who is already married, agrees to run away with two different men in scarce as many minutes; one of these men is Andre, the other, his friend Octave. Due to the fallout from yet another love triangle, Andre is mistaken for Octave and shot. The interloper who made the mistake of being honest and honorable amidst a veritable den of thieves has finally paid the price for his disturbances.
ReplyDeleteRather than providing a directly literal interpretation of the title as it correlates to cut and dry elements of the film, I would like to suggest that the title, "The Rules of the Game", is a somewhat sarcastic reflection on the petty, cynical mood of the film. One of the most prevalent concerns of the film and its director, Renoir, is the way in which characters interact socially when the nature of their relationships are uncertain. Renoir has a keen focus on mannerisms and how these play in to social interactions. The viewer latches on to these mannerisms like as Robert's suspicious frown, Octave's easy-going grin, Andre's focused, shy demeanor, and Christine's disciplined fake smile. When the plot of the film develops and the social relations between the characters get stretched to the breaking point, we see these mannerisms amplified into reactions. Each character attempts to hold his/her own as he/she witnesses the rapidly changing landscape of friendship and love. As their lovers are snatched away and they become friends with those unlikely candidates who can recognize a mutual self-interest, the characters continuously plot their next moves. After being thrown out of Robert's Chateau for recklessly chasing Marceau over an affair he was having with Lissette, Schumacher almost immediately unites with Marceau in an a mutual hatred of Octave, another of Lissette's lovers. Hours before, Marceau, the lowly proletariat shoe shiner, allied with Robert in a pact against Andre for attempting to steal Christine, Robert's wife. Meanwhile, Lissette attempted to secretly aid Marceau in escaping from her husband Schumacher by boldly lying to Schumacher's face when he suggested they move out. Hers is an obvious act of deceptive appeasement. She keeps her intentions secret from those closest to her. She keeps her motives even more hidden. She is not merely behaving; she is acting, deceiving, plotting, bluffing, and, shall we say, playing a game. Every single character, with the notable exception of Andre, is participating in this circuitous behavior, this charade. Even the good natured Octave who, for the majority of the film, attempted to help his friend Andre reconvene with Christine, ends up carrying a secret motive, his own love for Christine. Each character tries to misleadingly behave as transparent when associating with others, but the viewer is objectively aware of each character's true circumstance. To some extent, one could argue that the characters are so absorbed in their own deceptive ways and secret intentions that they don't even realize everyone else is doing the same thing. They all believe they are in control. They are all serving selfish motives (except for possibly Octave who helps Andre).
ReplyDeleteThe title of the film is more a smug reflection of Renoir on the subject of the film than a declarative statement on what the film is or is about. The characters in the film do not conceive of the game that is their social interactions as the audience does from our distant perspective. The viewer sees the film played out as if all the characters are sitting around a high stakes poker table. Andre, the one who doesn't know how to bluff, loses out the quickest. Robert and Christine, the masters of appearances, come out on top. We see it all as petty and absurd from our removed perspective, but there is no doubt that the wealthy Marquee knows how to put on a show and swing the contestants.
One interpretation of “the game” is the game of love. I agree with Annie when she mentions keeping affairs a secret. That French culture at the time was clearly known for the numerous affairs and lovers but those affairs were never talked about. Christine and her husband both have separate affairs and Shumacher’s wife is having an affair with Marceau, and everyone knows about these affairs but no one ever talks about them or acknowledges them. Everything is seems to be working just fine, not talking about the affairs, until Andre comes and doesn’t follow the rules. The rules being to keep everything quiet and sneak around. Andre, instead, wants to run off with Christine and tell the Marquis of his plan because to him that is the right thing to do.
ReplyDelete“The Rules of the Game” simply means the game of love and secret affairs. All of the characters in the film are participants because they all play a part in the game, whether as the cheaters or the lovers. I would say to win the game, one could not acknowledge the affairs he or she was having and to lose would obviously be to do the opposite. Part of playing this game means abiding by the rules because as we find out at the end, the consequences are not simply to bring to light an affair. Andre constantly broke the rules and finally at the end of the film he is mistaken for Octave, who had an affair with Schumacher’s wife. So Schumacher shoots Andre, thinking he is Octave, and kills him right then and there. This sends the message that their system of keeping quiet, or this game they all seem to play, cannot be disrupted and if it is, there will be grave consequences.
The "Rules" are the general social structure and norms of the class of people depicted in the film, the French bourgeoisie. The rules are much different from probably what are our own views on faithfulness and matrimony, or the views of Middle America today. I think that the biggest "rule" of the characters was not necessarily about who loves whom, or how many lovers one has, but instead it is one's conduct in front of other people in respect to his/her love life. Andre is the outsider of the film, or the "rule breaker." I don't think it is because he was in love with another man's wife, Christine. This seems to be a common occurrence. I think he is a "rule-breaker" because of his conduct towards Christine and his romantic situation. He is open and upfront about the fact that he is in love with her, and wants to be with her in the proper way, by respectfully telling her husband, Robert, and requesting that the two divorce. This move is a nuisance to the existing social change. Andre would have been better off having a private affair with Christine, while recognizing her marriage and putting on a happy face in public. The fact that he did not do this makes him a "rule breaker." I think it is also interesting to note that both upper-class "bourgeoisie" audiences, and working class audiences booed the film in theatres. Is it because the disagree with the narrative it presents on high French society? Did they think it falsely represented their people? Or did they recognize that it was telling the truth, and they didn't like it because hearing the truth hurt?
ReplyDeleteThe title of the film, The Rules of the Game, is a sarcastic social commentary on the French upper class. The “rules” that they are referring to are the rules one must adhere to in order to be a part of their society. Namely, being lying, conniving, secretive, and unfaithful. Near all of the characters in the film bend to these rules in all aspects of their lives. The one exception is the pilot, Andre Jurieux. He lives a life that is entirely opposite from the “rules”. He lives a life of honesty, even when it seems inappropriate. Andre is not afraid to admit what he wants out of life and he goes after it. This is entirely unlike the twisted web of lies the bourgeois finds himself or herself in. These high society people are having affairs left and right. Their significant others know full well that these affairs are happening but nobody cares as long as nobody talks about it out in the open. Andre is thrust into this society on his honest journey and completely clashes with their lifestyle and their “rules”. In the end, Andre ends up dead for his inability to comply with the rules. This entire film is a sort of satire on the society it depicts. As a result after seeing the movies the title sounds more sarcastic than matter of fact. It is for this reason that these people’s lives are referred to as a “game” within the title. The characters lack authenticity and are literally playing around in their own lives. It is for these reasons that the title of the film offers a somewhat snarky depiction of the society it depicts.
ReplyDeleteThe game could be seen as a game of love because all of the love affairs that are present in the film. Christine is married to Robert however she is having an affair with Andre and harbors feelings for Octave. Robert, although married to Christine, is having an affair Genevieve. Lisette is the wife of Schumacher, however she is having an affair with Marceau. The rule of this game is that everyone can sleep with whoever they want, as long as they don’t get caught. Only when someone gets caught in infidelity do they get in trouble. Schumacher open fired on Marceau when he caught him with his wife. Also Robert attacked Andre when he caught him with his wife. Andre’s death could also be seen as punishment for not keeping his affair a secret.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the game can also be seen as a game of social norms. It seems that everyone in the film had their own certain place in society. There was the elite, which included Christine, Genevieve, and Robert, and there was the servants, which included Schumacher, Lisette, and Marceau. The rules of this game could be seen as for you to stay in your place in society so order would be present. However, Andres did not fit in society or follow its rules. He was an aviator, and at some points a celebrity, who’s affairs with a woman caused chaos to run rampant. In some ways his death could be seen as being necessary to bringing order back into society.
I think that the title refers to the game of love simply because love is the central theme of the movie. While others have suggested that the word 'game' could refer the game of life, I would disagree because it isn't a movie about life, it's a movie about love and more specifically, love affairs. While Annie makes a good point about everyone constantly trying to come off as if they have everything in their lives under control, the central theme is relationships and affairs. The way that the movie portrays love is like a game; people are constantly having affairs with each other, and each of them would get upset at one another if any of them were to be discovered. For example, when Robert discovers that his wife is having an affair, he shoots Andre, even though he is in a love triangle himself. That said, the rule of these affairs or 'the game' is to satisfy your desires as much as you can without getting caught by anyone who isn't involved. There were several times in the movie where there were multiple people in one room who knew about affairs that were going on, but none of them said a word. It's as if everyone knows what's going on, but they don't want to ask about it because they know it's true. When Andre gave away his affair, he broke the rules and lost the game. The consequence of this was of course, his own death.
ReplyDeleteThe rules of the game seem to be the rules of social engagement. It is apparent throughout the film when people are doing things that follow the rules and when people are doing things that don’t follow the rules. Unfortunately the rules of this time period seem to be very skewed, as the only honest seeming person gets killed for his actions. The filmmaker clearly has a very negative view on society and used this film to comment on it, as it seems that he views people as morally corrupt and adds to that by saying those who are not morally corrupt fail to get what they want (Andre being the example of that, as well as Octave a little). The fact that in the end, Robert is still with Christine even though he had cheated on his wife for a seemingly extended period of time, speaks to the way the filmmaker wanted to express society as being morally corrupt. It seemed that one “wins” the game by being the most ruthless and the most morally corrupt. Not only does Robert cheat on his wife, but he also lies to cover up Andre’s death. The moral of this film seems to be whoever cheats and lies the most gets what they want, which is a very dark and twisted take away, so it is evident that the filmmaker was trying to point this out to their viewers. I believe that the rules of the game was an entertaining film and the different “rules of the game” that seemed very corrupt provided for some entertainment; however, the film did rub off as dark and twisted at the end, as the only honest, or likable, character is killed at the end of the film.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the rules of the game seem to be the rules of conduct in an upper class, French chateau. The game is more obvious, the setting and venue of Robert's country estate, but the rules become more confusing. I think that the overall point of the movie is to show that in this particular game, there are no rules, anything goes until somebody gets hurt. This can be seen in a number of scenes in the movie when characters contradict themselves and break some rules that they supported earlier. For instance, Octave brings Andre to the party and vows to help him win Christine. He seems at this moment to support what's right and he wants to help his friend. More than this, he seems to believe in true love. However, towards the end of the film, he goes against Andre and is about to run off with Christine. This goes against what he knows his right and he's betraying his friend. It is unclear whether or not he's in love with Christine, but it seems a little spur-of-the-moment and not well thought out.
ReplyDeleteThese contradictions and plot twists as well as the idea that anything goes, shows that there are no rules in this society, which may explain why the characters are so unhappy. In an ideal society, the people are governed by a set of rules, but when there are no rules, the society cannot function properly and that leads to unhappiness and in this case, even violence. This is consistent with Renoir's hatred with the upper class and it makes sense that the story points out flaws, especially that the only rule to the game is that there are no rules.
How could I resist to agree to all of my fellow classmates? Seriously speaking, I do agree that the rules of the game is a game about life. Within life, the most important "sub - game" if we can call it that would be love. I think that the rules for each person vary depending on their situation but the overall themes of the game stay the same throughout the different players. It is about conducting yourself and how you can best uphold yourself in a society that (for our knowledge) is a little crazy. In this game, the game of upstanding your title and your name, they face the difficult challenge of what they really want in life and in love. In the movie we are thrown upon many intertwined love relations that get confusing over time but are the basis for breaking the rules. I believe the rules are conducting yourself in a manner that hides your true feelings towards someone or something that you can't have and with standing that urge to go and get it. One of the most important characters that ends up facing the potential consequences of breaking the rules of the game is Andre. If we were to take Andre's situation, one where he is open about his love for another man's wife and his open plan to run away with her whenever he gets the opportunity. These actions can be viewed upon as breaking the rules of the game. If these were the specific rules and he broke them, the consequence for breaking the rules would end up in death whether that be an accident or an actual murder. This seems very intense, but the game everyone is playing is intense and even though it is portrayed as more of a comedic thing that everyone can find with anyone, love is a very intense feeling and emotion. As Ryan said, there needs to be rules because you can't live and love without any rules and with specific rules comes specific consequences that you might not want to face in the long run, like our friend Andre had to go through.
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