Monday, February 23, 2015
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not . . .
At the begining of the film, Genevieve, Robert's mistress, is entertaining guests at a dinner party. As they discuss Andre's profession of love for Christine after his heroic crossing of the Atlantic, she offers this observation on love by Chamfort:"Love is the exchange of two fantasies and contact of two skins." What does this bon mot mean? Is this a theme in the rest of the film? What is the meaning of love and intimate relationships in The Rules of the Game?
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Nicolas Chamfort’s astute statement that love is merely an exchange of two fantasies and a physical relationship is entirely true in the context of The Rules of the Game, and is a major theme throughout the film. The relationships displayed in the film are convoluted and nearly impossible to keep up with. Each character is caught up in multiple relationships that bridge pre-determined marriages and social classes. The film also offers no closure about who the characters truly love; the viewer is left to speculate and draw their own conclusions about the numerous relationships that played out in the film. In addition, none of the relationships are perfect: Andre’s love for Christine is seemingly unrequited, neither Robert’s marriage with Christine nor his extramarital affair with Geneviève are sound, and Octave is unable to understand who he truly loves. In these ways, the statement that “love is the exchange of two fantasies…” perfectly describes the relationships in The Rules of the Game. Each character is wrapped up in their own fantasies and perilously try to project them onto others, only to be disappointed and unsatisfied. This can be most clearly seen through the character of Christine, who revels in the attention that she receives from all of the male characters. Christine’s own fantasy is to be loved and admired by all of those around her, so she goes about the film projecting this fantasy on every willing participant. At the end of the film, Christine professes her love to Andre, Octave, and Robert, displaying that she simply craves each of these people’s unfaltering admiration. Yet, Christine is certainly not the only selfish character, as each of the other characters try to fulfil their own fantasies, even if that leads to the destruction of others.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Genevieve’s bon mot means that love is when one has a passionate adoration for another based on their perception of that person. One powerful example is Andre and his burning love for Christine, a married woman who toys with his emotions. Andre’s love for Christine is arguably the most powerful love that any character in Rules of the Game experiences. In the film we see how Andre’s feelings for her govern his behavior and his actions. In the beginning of the film, Andre is deemed a hero for flying a plane across “the Atlantic in 23 hours”. When he lands, he is greeted by many fans and lauded for his great accomplishment. Unfortunately for Andre, the woman he loves is not there to greet him and despite all of the positive attention he receives, her absence brings him down. Instead of thanking everyone for their support, he delivers a public message about how he “made this flight for a woman [but]…She’s not here to welcome me”. Despite being honored as a hero, Andre’s love for Christine and his desire for her personal approval prevent from feeling any happiness for his victory; he becomes so upset that he crashes his car into a tree. In Rules of the Game, we see that it is generally acceptable for a “married person [to]… take a lover, but out of respect for one’s spouse, the other party must not be flaunted, taken seriously, or displayed in such a way that would reflect poorly on the spouse”( Eggert). Out of a certain respect for her spouse, Christine must treat Andre as a friend in public. It is only when they are alone that Christine confesses her love to Andre. To her, their relationship is a private matter and it should stay that way. According to the rules, Andre can love Christine, but he cannot intervene between her and her husband, Robert. When he wants more from Christine, conflicts arise. In The Rules of the Game love is cheap. There is not much loyalty and very little devotion. Love for most of the characters is more of a game than a serious emotional commitment. It is a superficial pleasure instead of a deep feeling of commitment. Love seems to mean whatever a character chooses it to mean in this film.
ReplyDeleteEggert, Brian. "The Rules of the Game." Deep Focus Review. N.p., 21 Nov. 2011.
Web. 5 Mar. 2015. .
While many critics debate wither Jean Renour’s film, The Rules of the Game, is in fact about war, the underlying message throughout the movie is the meaning of love. Within the first couple minutes of the film, we already have one character professing his love to another. André Jurieux, exits his plane after crossing the Atlantic only to find out that his lover, Christine, has not come to greet him after his long journey. To the men and women in the film, love is something that is actively sought after. The Rules of the Game shows us that love can drive people to do crazy things, like cheat and even kill. Love is boundless, something that anyone can experience, even between people among different social class. For example, Marceau, a poacher, falls for Lisette. There are so many romantic ties between the characters that it’s sometimes hard to keep track. Christine described love as “the exchange of two fantasies and contact of two skins” and parts of this statement are true. All the characters, Andre, Christine, Octave, Marceau and even Robert, have a yearning for partnership. While the lifestyles of the characters are different, they all desire a companion who will fulfil their wildest dreams. None of the characters know exactly what they want because they can’t describe it. The Rules of the Game begins with a poem from Beaumarchais' Le Mariage de Figaro that reads “"Sensitive hearts, faithful hearts / Who shun love whither it does range / Cease to be so bitter / Is it a crime to change?” Beaumarchais poem reinforces the fact that romantic love can transcend boundaries, and erase egos.
ReplyDeleteChamfort’s quote, “Love is the exchange of two fantasies and the contact of two skins” shows the oversimplified nature of love in the society presented in The Rules of the Game. The quote attempts to encapsulate the idea of love in a single sentence and give a cynical view of human nature. It identifies love as having two distinct aspects: physical and emotional. The physical aspect, “the contact of two skins” is stated with a tone that portrays humans as nothing more than unthinking animals. The section of the quote that addresses the emotional aspect of love attempts to trivialize it even more. By calling love “the exchange of two fantasies,” Chamfort is undermining the sense of virtue the word “love” calls to mind. The idea of meaningless love is definitely an important theme in The Rules of the Game. The most blatant example is near the end of the film when Christine tells Andre that she loves him. Hours later, she says the same thing to Octave and then kisses him. Christine clearly doesn’t think of love as an emotion that is special in any way. Christine, along with the rest of society as it is presented in The Rules of the Game, only cares about momentary pleasures. Many of the characters have romantic relationships outside of their marriages and do not hesitate to be unfaithful. In conjunction with the Chamfort’s quote, people only seem to be in love with an ideal and unrealistic version of one another. When Christine and Andre profess their love, Christine talks of leaving together. Yet once Andre says he must tell La Chesnaye and fantasy becomes reality, Christine seems to have second thoughts. Portraying love as fantastical plays into the greater theme that certain parts of French society are extremely out of touch with reality.
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