The Sorrow And The Pity

The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin Et La Pitie)  (1969)

Runtime: 251 minutes (that's right)

Directed by: Marcel Ophuls

Starring: This is a documentary

From: Several French TV stations

I have known of this for years, so I am glad I finally was able to see this last night, via TCM. The four hour length did not bother me. Read all about this great documentary below:

I've been busy with various things the past few days but things have calmed down now and I definitely could not turn down the rare opportunity to see this famous documentary; the main thing discussed is the collaboration between the French government and the Nazi government during World War II, which was denied at the time but after seeing this and hearing all those people interviewed, it's pretty conclusive.

That's not what the movie is all about, though. Many different people are interviewed, from French to German to Englishmen that tried to assist the Resistance, and many different viewpoints are presented as this is a complex topic. You see some enlist in the German army and help fight their fights, while others were part of the Resistance and others simply tried to keep the status quo despite the big change with their country. A lot of the action is focused on those who lived in and around the city of Clermont-Ferrand, in the middle of France. There, a wide variety are interviewed; rich, poor and everyone else... Communists, soldiers, regular folk, etc. Fear of Communism is a reason why some people performed the actions they did, and yet some in the Resistance had to fight alongside Communists. Sadly, Antisemitism is also part of the equation. Between that and talk of how the Nazi ideology could return in the future under that name or another name... sadly, such talk is still relevant today in late 2016.


This is an excellent documentary. Besides presenting a lot of information about the war and showing how things were back then (plenty of stock footage augments what the interviewees are saying), you get to understand why everyone acted the way they do... even the Waffen SS people. It is not only educational in understanding what the scene was in France during those dark days, you also get to learn some things about humanity in general as you follow these interesting people. If you are a history nerd, this is a must-see.