La Regle Du Jeu (The Rules Of The Game)

Frequently cited as one of the greatest films ever, this Renoir comedy/tragedy/farce/social analysis is one of the rare films that made us want to immediately watch it again.
It is obviously expertly made. The directing is flawlessly unobtrusive, alightly arresting scenes (rather than images) are put in place. The script at once does not give too much away, and is explicit about its themes. There is some nice, if not laugh out loud humour, reminiscent of some light Marx Brothers. It plays the wonderful game of letting us know there is more going on, without explicitly saying so. It is truly 'masterfully' done.
Yet this makes it a slightly tame experience on first viewing, one is rather given to say 'so what, I enjoyed that, what more?'. But deeper consideration tells us that this is an intelligent film, down to the way it is captured and the way it is acted. A comedy of the upper classes without an upper class view, it does have something biting in it, but not obviously so. The script is sharp and never gives a killer blow, at no point in the action do we say 'what bastards' but on final consideration, 'what bastards'. This film needs more thought.
For its place in the critical hierachy, serious cinema fans need to see it, and it is nothing but a good, slick watch. Re-watching may though be required to tease out its brilliance which, on first showing, we see is undoubtedly there but hidden beneath a veneer of a good, if not show-stopping, drama.