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Emory Cinematheque: The Rules of the Game Directed by Jean Renoir, 1939 | 110 min. Jean Renoir’s satire of the French bourgeoisie “dancing on the edge of a volcano” (e.g., the Fascist threats at its borders) is the crowning achievement of his golden decade of filmmaking in France (though a case can be made for his magnificent anti-war Grand Illusion). Classically structured, Rules transforms from an urbane comedy of manners among an amoral, adulterous group of mostly wealthy Parisians into a fast-paced, upstairs/downstairs slapstick farce when all hell breaks loose at a costume ball at a Loire chateau. Renoir here achieves the height of naturalism through his signature style--complex staging captured by his frequent use of a mobile camera and long takes. The film is imbued with Renoir’s generous affection for all his characters, no matter how badly they behave. Free event and open to public