Rent Diplomacy (2014)

Very Wordy but Interesting French Film about Last Days of Nazi Rule in Paris in WWII Based on a Play - Diplomacy review by PV

So this is a short film and very wordy - it is stagey, as befits a theatre play. Most action happens in one room!

A minor film but interesting, esp for those who want to know about WWII.

The German general here replaced another who was executed for being involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler.

How true it all is, I do not know; and at least the film acknowledges that this general was implicated in war crimes, massacres of Jews and more in Ukraine AND he had French Resistance prisoners transferred to concentration camps in 1944 from which very few returned. Some may say he dodged a noose but so did Speer and SO many more - 97% in fact of SS war criminals walked free. The Paris head of the gestapo only arrested in Germany in 1980, jailed for 5 years.

Wait till the end for details of the history on screen.

I am not at all sure of the truth of all of this. And do remember that the Swedish diplomat is there because Sweden was neutral in WWII and WWI and got rich from both, selling iron ore to the Germans. One reason Sweden was rich post WWII. They let 2 million German soldiers march through Sweden to invade Norway too.

BUT it is true Paris was saved, and this General COULD have obeys Hitler;s orders to destroy it, detonate bombs in all the famous buildings. Others disobeyed orders too - Speer did not destroy infrastructure in Germany as Hitler ordered, and Florence in Italy, esp the Ponte Vecchio, old bridge with shops on, was saved because again a German general ignored Hitler's orders. Of course, Germany SHOULD have surrendered in 1943 when it was obvious they'd lose the war, but such as the fixation and obsession with Hitler who mesmerised the nation, they kept on fighting with disastrous results.

A solid if unspectacular little film about how Paris was saved from destruction and the end of Nazi rule there in 1944. So 3 stars.