Things to Watch For in La règle du jeu

The following are some things to watch for during your second viewing:

Note Robert's antique mechanized toys. What thematic purpose do they serve?

Note the Buddha's in the background in the first scene where we see Robert and his mistress together?

Note how the love pairs and triangles between the masters is replicated at the level of the servants. 

Note Renoir's technique of deep focus so that the action and characters are in focus on all three levels: foreground, middle ground and background. For example, in the scene near the end of the film when Octave comes in to the house to retrieve his coat and Christine's, we see Robert in the foreground. But the real action occurs in the middle ground where we see Lisette and the background where we see Octave enter and call to her.

Note how the length of takes (the time a single shot lasts) during the famous hunting scene varies during the build-up to the hunt, the hunt itself, and the aftermath.

Note the themes of poaching and hunting.

Renoir has said that the film does not have a central character, rather it is about an entire social class––the French bourgeoisie.  Note how the interlopers––Octave and Marceau who belong neither to the class of the masters or servants––must leave before the film can conclude. What does this signify?

What is the symbolism of the hunt and La Fête de La Colinière? 

Note how Marceau is Robert's alter ego and Lisette is Christine's. 

Marceau is a representation of Pan––the nature god. Who or what does Schumacher represent?

Note how the dance of death that occurs on stage during La Fête de La Colinière actually takes place off stage as well as the lovers fight and, eventually, Andre is killed.

How long has everyone known about Robert's infidelity?

Note the mistaken identity theme, generally associated with of comedies.

Note how Renoir uses a moving camera with his long takes that allows him to change perspective. For example, in the scene where Andre arrives at the party, the camera starts on Christine, then it pulls back and we see Andre enter and Christine frozen (should she go to her reputed lover?). Then in the background, Octave appears and passes Andre by. His arrival frees Christine and she now moves toward Octave and, eventually, Andre. But it is the moving camera and long take that allow us to see this develop.

Question: In La règle du jeu, Renoir combines elements of Alfred de Musset's Les Caprices de Marianne, a popular 19th-century comedy of manners with Beaumarchais' Le Mariage de Figaro, a stage comedy satirizing the aristocracy. Given Renoir's obvious allegory to what was going on in Europe at the time (the film was made in the period immediately following The Munich Agreement of 1938 signed by Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini and the French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier), why do you thing he used comedies rather than tragedies?