The Elusive Corporal
The Elusive Corporal

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An upper-class corporal from Paris is captured by the Germans when they invade France in 1940. Assisted and accompanied by characters as diverse as a morose dairy farmer, a waiter, a myopic intellectual, a working-class Parisian, and a German dental assistant, the corporal tries to escape from prison camps, sometimes making it a few yards, sometimes reaching the French border.... (Full plot summary below)

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Actors in The Elusive Corporal:

Jean-Pierre Cassel
Claude Brasseur
Claude Rich
Jacques Jouanneau
Mario David
Jean Carmet

Full Plot Details

An upper-class corporal from Paris is captured by the Germans when they invade France in 1940. Assisted and accompanied by characters as diverse as a morose dairy farmer, a waiter, a myopic intellectual, a working-class Parisian, and a German dental assistant, the corporal tries to escape from prison camps, sometimes making it a few yards, sometimes reaching the French border.

Review & Comments

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Movie Reviews

Ozus' World Movie Reviews - 8/10 by Dennis SchwartzFollows along the lines of the director's The Grand Illusion, but without that film's depth.
Turner Classic Movies Online - 8/10 by Sean AxmakerThe tone is light and the repeated escape attempts are played with a comic undertone, yet behind the humor is the feeling of dignity lost...
Chicago Reader - 8/10 by Don DrukerAn ironic comedy of fake French heroics and real French heroism, the film is delicate and witty and features a delightful performance from Jean-Pierre Cassel.
New York Times - 6/10 by Bosley CrowtherTthe trace of philosophical implication makes it worth more than lightly passing through.
User Review - 10/10 by Adam Ma few moments that border on melodramatic for '62 but also nuanced moments of beauty and thoughts about freedom; Cassel is great
User Review - 8/10 by Ben G"The Elusive Corporal" starts with the French capitulation to German forces in 1940. All Guillaume(Jean Carnet), a soldier, wants to do now is return home and tend his pigs but the Nazis will not let him or any other French soldier leave. While the war may indeed may be over for the French, it is only just the start for the Nazis in trying to conquer all of Europe. That does not stop The Corporal(Jean-Pierre Cassel), Pop(Claude Brasseur) and Ballochet(Claude Rich) from giving it the old college try. Actually, Ballochet backs out at the last second while The Corporal and Pop are captured with a minimum of force. Next time will be harder since they are all being sent to Germany. Directed by Jean Renoir with his customary finesse, "The Elusive Corporal" is a very engaging and life affirming tale of war that is more about rebelliousness than bravery. A lot of class conflict is touched on in the movie, especially around The Corporal who despite his wealthy background is only an enlisted man and I think a lot of that has to do with his problems with authority which never goes down that well in the armed forces. That also explains why he is consistently the only one to go over the wall, risking being sent off to a fortress(Colditz, perhaps?), as most of the other soldiers just try to get along. I did not understand his obsession with returning to France since that is now occupied territory(and I hear Switzerland is nice this time of year) until the final scene.
User Review - 8/10 by Ryan MShould rank among the best of great directors' forgotten late works. Renoir's second-to-last film is a good deal more than the WWII update of 'Grand Illusion' that it's consistently billed as (though I won't argue that it's better than the earlier classic). To begin with, there are no Gabins or Stroheims here, and traces of their romantic loftiness are mostly absent (though something of Fresnay's ever-prideful "Captain de Boeldieu" comes back in the bespectacled prisoner's beautifully executed death scene). Even Cassel, the movie's ostensible center, is hardly singularized (and it should resonate that there's no pretense to nobility in the characters here). The film plays even faster and looser than 'Grand Illusion' with the farcical elements of prison life, all the while retaining pacifistic reminders about war's absurdity. There's also more naturalism in the aesthetic. The major kicker of course is that Renoir thinks 'The Elusive Corporal''s war IS worth fighting, and if the film fails at all it maybe does so at the level of arguing that last point (Cassel's "swastikas still depress me" line is hardly a rallying call). Perhaps Renoir wants to have it both ways by humanizing the Germans while calling for their defeat. That's hardly a disagreeable approach, but I can't shake the feeling that for most of the film Renoir skirts the issue, focusing in instead on the amusing, tender stuff of Frenchmen scrambling for their freedom.
User Review - 8/10 by Jochen Wreturning to the themes of his '37 masterpiece LA GRANDE ILLUSION, renoir once again created a humanistic, humorous, warm, elegant, but also serious movie about war and its consequences. renoir is a master and LE CAPORAL Ã?PINGLÃ? might not be his very best, but ranks definitely among his better works.
User Review - 8/10 by Wut SOne might suspect that this film would be an attempt to make Grand Illusion for WW2 but this is actually a good movie. The film is very funny without turning into a farse about the war, the film shows that escaping from a POW camp is more luck than anything else. Like Grand Illusion there is a focus on friendship between soldiers and fronteers are an important aspect.
User Review - 8/10 by Michael TJean Renoir's comedy of irony is enjoyable, but not one of his best.

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