Search - The Eye of Vichy on DVD

Vichy France - Nationalist Socialist wanna be

Utah Blaine | Somewhere on Trexalon in District 268 | 12/29/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This film is a collection of short clips (taken from newsreels, propaganda films, and mainstream movies) made by/for/about the Vichy government from 1940 until the liberation of Paris in 1944. This is a modern (1993) attempt to paint a picture of the Vichy government that they may have painted of themselves. I found this to be a fascinating window into how the Vichy government viewed themselves. The style of the film is, in many ways, similar to `Triumph of the Will'. There are fiery speechs about duty, honor, hard work, basic/traditional values, sacrifice, etc. There is clearly some effort to create a personality cult around Petain as well. An effort was apparently made to place Petain above petty political machinations of individual parties (i.e. he was above partisan politics and only represents France's interests). Complex issues of the day are framed very simply, with an `us-versus-them' dogma. Many of the clips are blatant racist, anti-Semitic propaganda (i.e. during discussion of the `Jewish Question' there is video of rats coming out of a sewer). There is also a great emphasis on the energy of the youth, how they will be the saviors of the future. One thing I found particularly interesting about this film was the repeated line of argument taken by Petain and the other Vichy functionnaires that France will suffer less pain by siding with Germany than against, so France should work with them. Finally, I found it interesting how, as the war progressed, the justifications of the Vichy regime to support Germany became progressively more ridiculous.

The place in history for the Vichy regime is still a hotly disputed subject several generations after the war. This film certainly does not explore many of the moral ambiguities of the Vichy era, it paints the Vichyites simply as Nazis. I give it four stars simply because it is a propaganda film and there is only so much to be learned from this type of film. I am not an expert on the Vichy era, but this film left me with more questions than answers (perhaps this was the point of the film?). The film itself is fast paced and the various clips are seamless woven together. There is some English commentary, but most of the discussion is French with English subtitles. Overall, a good inside into Vichy France and highly recommended for anyone interested in WWII or French History in general. Finally, if you are looking for a good (French) film that actually explores some of the complexities of the occupation check out the film `Uranus'."