THE RULES OF THE GAME (LA RÈGLE DU JEU) Guest Artistic Director

A comedy of manners and musical beds set against society’s need to keep up appearances, RULES OF THE GAME contrasts the French aristocracy and lower classes as they interact on a country estate during a weekend hunting party. Jean Renoir weaves the threadbare elements of French farce into an indictment of hypocrisy and self-delusion. Released just weeks before Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland, initial critical reception ranged from tepid to openly hostile and the distributor cut 30 minutes from the film in an effort to make it more commercial before it was banned altogether during the German occupation of France. Nearly lost when the original negative was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid, RULES OF THE GAME was reconstructed from surviving elements after the war and has since become recognized as one of the greatest films of all time, currently ranking 4th in Sight & Sound Magazine’s international critics’ poll.