The Sorrow and the Pity film by Marcel Ophuls - Movie Review Example

The Sorrow and the pity documentary is based on view that during the World War II, France was the only state which collaborated and de Gaulle's Free French in UK were in the awkward situation as government of France was not in a state of exile. The strongest point of the movie is that it shows reality and the idea was completely innovative to show the interviews of the people who actually were present at the time of such a chaos and destruction. The real stories are described in the film. The Sorrow and the Pity movie include the interviews of the French and German who played a major or minor part in the war.

The idea behind the movie was to bring in front the truth about the collaboration of France with Nazis. The documentary, which is more than four hours long was shot in Clermont Ferrand, a town in France. Marcel Ophulus view about the movie is that those who have not undergone the pain, damage and grief of occupying power can never know how it feels so they have no right to judge a nation that endured the horrors and terror of the war. The fundamental point of the movie is the forbearance and complacent of the people under the control of another power in their state.

The Sorrow and the Pity is one of the greatest documentary ever made. The film is based on the World War II, the destructions caused by the war and the people affected by the war. The movie was about the physical and social division of France. The Germans with their war weapons and machined easily conquered the France and it was not shown that it's any of a big deal for the Nazi Germans to have a control over France. As shown in the movie the basic concern of the people under the war was to have food for them to eat.

The movie has two parts. First part is about the conquest and collaboration of France and is called "The Collapse". This part consists of the attack of Nazi Germans and the quick surrender of the French, whereas the second part is known as "The Choice" which inquires about the practical dilemma of power of resisting. This part was actually to reveal the truth about the resistance or cooperation of French with Nazi Germans. It also reveals the consequences of the Collaboration. The movie first stirred great controversy when it was released.

The people of France were reluctant to admit that France was one of the many states who could actually collaborate with the victorious country, Germany. The French television was not willing to broadcast it and it stirred a huge controversy. So the movie was shown at the cinema where it emerged as a great success, (Holm, D. K 2005).The Sorrow and the pity movie is all about the life in France during the period of the World War II and the Nazi Occupation. It includes the interviews of the people who were involved directly or indirectly in this play.

It is a daring step taken by the director to make an objective evaluation of the perplexing situation in the history of France. The documentary is close to reality which reflects the real life situation about what actually happened to the people who lived during the war and what difficulties they faced. The interviews were conducted from the Government officials, politicians, artists, farmers, veterans, forces and common people who could speak about the war