Le chagrin et la pitié

If you are a movie buff, you have probably gotten the impression from the bulk of movies about WWII that the French populace as a whole fought bravely to resist the Nazi Occupation. "The Sorrow and the Pity" makes it clear that such was not the case. This stunning documentary includes interviews from people from all shades of the spectrum politically, philosophically and socially. The interviewers did a great job of coaxing the truth from these people by being friendly rather than confrontational. Some of the most amazing footage is from German newsreels, with the ghastly "pure race" prejudices being illustrated with a very sarcastic commentary on some of the French prisoners of war. I think that every high school student in The United States should see this film so that they understand that you can't always just " go along to get long". Of course, with the average high school student's attention span, it would have to be shown in shorter installments. This film is completely worthwhile and never boring!