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The Sorrow and the Pity

Le chagrin et la pitié

1969

Marcel Ophüls

Documentary

7.6

298

Documentary. War From 1940 to 1944, France's Vichy government collaborated with Nazi Germany. Marcel Ophüls mixes archival footage with 1969 interviews of a German officer and of collaborators and resistance fighters from Clermont-Ferrand. They comment on the nature, details and reasons for the collaboration, from anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and fear of Bolsheviks, to simple caution. Part one, "The Collapse," includes an extended interview with Pierre ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Bill Desowitz The New York Times	"Long before 'Schindler's List' came along, 'The Sorrow and the Pity' had already redefined how we think and feel about the Holocaust"	POS
United Kingdom	Xan Brooks The Guardian	"The film is so boldly conceived, richly textured and beautifully paced that its marathon running time feels more like a sprint."	POS
United States	Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times	"Still potent, powerful (...) What makes 'The Sorrow and the Pity' the remarkable film it is, is that it has no interest in pointing fingers or being judgmental."	POS
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"In its complexity, its humanity, its refusal to find easy solutions, this is one of the greatest documentaries ever made (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	David Parkinson Empire	"One of documentary cinema's genuine masterpieces (...) Timeless study of human nature (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Derek Smith Slant	"A tremendous documentary, whose themes speak as much to the years of Nazi occupation as it does to the period in which it was made, as well as to the present day"	POS
United States	Time	"An artistic and intellectual triumph!"	POS

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