The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin et la Pitié)

1972

The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin et la Pitié)

Critics Consensus

The Sorrow and the Pity narrates a painful chapter in France's history through an impressively rich mosaic of testimonies and historical archives, giving a complex texture to the struggles of a people amid tragedy.

100%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 28

97%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,281
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Movie Info

Made for French television, Marcel Ophüls' four-hour-plus documentary explores the average French citizen's memories of the Nazi occupation. Just how large and effective was the fabled resistance movement? Is cooperation the same thing as collaboration? And how did one's up-close-and-personal experiences with the occupation troops impact one's postwar life? These questions are probingly posed (but not all are answered) by Ophüls, who also acts as offscreen interviewer. The first half of the film is a mosaic of sights and sounds from the years 1940-1944: Maurice Chevalier singing for the German troops, clips of propagandistic newsreels, appalling vignettes from the scurrilous anti-Semitic film drama Jew Suss (1940), and the like. Ophüls' interpretation of history as the "process of recollection, in things like choice, selective memory, rationalization" is fully illustrated in the film's long second half, which is devoted almost entirely to interviews, in which the subjects display emotions ranging from mild embarrassment to abrupt rage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
  • Rating:
    PG
  • Genre:
    Art House & International, Documentary, Special Interest
  • Directed By:
    Marcel Ophüls
  • Written By:
    Marcel Ophüls, André Harris
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Cinema 5 Distributing

Cast

Matheus Bleibinger
Georges Bidault
Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès-France
Louis Grave
Dr. Claude Levy
Alexis Grave
Denis Rake
Helmuth Tausend
Marcel Verdier
Emanuel de la Vigier
Maurice Chevalier
Robert Anthony Eden
Rene de Chambrun
Emile Caubaudon
Christian de la Maziere
Jacques Duclos
Albert Speer
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Critic Reviews for The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin et la Pitié)

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (28)

  • What I liked most about the film was that it accepted, indeed relied upon, the extraordinary particularity of the individual. There were one or two generalisations... but otherwise, typecasting was avoided.

    March 12, 2020 | Full Review…

    Philip Purser

    Daily Telegraph (UK)
    Top Critic

  • Watch for Pierre Mends-France, who makes you feel better about the human race after the rest of the film has made you despair.

    February 5, 2018 | Full Review…

    John Leonard

    New York Magazine/Vulture
    Top Critic

  • This is one of the most important -- and gripping -- documentaries on the Second World War and its aftermath.

    June 30, 2017 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

    Kate Muir

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • It's valuable mainly as a brilliant assemblage of documents and testimonies.

    October 6, 2007 | Full Review…

    Jonathan Rosenbaum

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • The film is so boldly conceived, richly textured and beautifully paced that its marathon running time feels more like a sprint.

    October 6, 2007 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

    Xan Brooks

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • The mosaic is comprehensive, the documentation overwhelming, particularly regarding the nature and extent of collaboration.

    June 24, 2006 | Full Review…
    Time Out
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (28)

Audience Reviews for The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin et la Pitié)

  • Jun 01, 2007
    I had always thought devotion to this movie was being made fun of in Annie Hall, until I saw it (and it takes a while to see it). The drama is amazing during the second half, with all you know about the characters from the first.
    Adam M Super Reviewer
  • Mar 03, 2007
    [font=Century Gothic]Directed by Marcel Ophuls, "The Sorrow and the Pity" is an epic documentary about the occupation of France by Nazi Germany from 1940-1944 during World War II, with the spotlight on the city of Clermont which is close to Vichy. The documentary starts out by being a damning examination of the French surrender and capitulation, leading to a collaboration with the Nazis that led to increased anti-Semitism, which may not have totally faded decades later. And in one horrific instance, the French authorities outdo the Nazis in cruelty. The bourgeoisie are portrayed as living their lives as usual during the occupation but the Communists who formed a good deal of the resistance are treated much better. Anti-Communist fervor was a factor that led the French ultra-nationalists to work with the Nazis.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]The documentary consists of interviews with English, French and German participants recalling their wartime experiences a quarter century after the fact. Most prominent of the interviewees are Anthony Eden and Pierre Mendes-France. Also shown are clips from Nazi propaganda films.[/font]
    Walter M Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

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