This is the way a great documentary is supposed to be made. This film came at a time when documentaries were few and far between, it remains riveting for every minute of its 251 minute length. It succeeds by telling a coherent story as well as an enthralling one. Most documentaries these days throw everything at you (in a hasty, sloppy manner), and load up their films with endless "talking head" shots. Then when they're criticised for it, they come up with the usual adage "it's up to the viewer to decide.". While the ultimate judge is the viewer, this is not a reason for a "cut and paste" approach to the film. This approach removes the narrative flow from many recent documentaries. This film tells its story so well and brilliantly, like a grand novel, and illuminates you on the Vichy government, and how it was really like to live and how complicated it is to live under an occupation. There are some historians here and there, but the film deals mainly with those who lived and fought the Nazis, those with the most at stake. That's one of the reasons the film is so riveting. It comes across as human, something many documentaries miss entirely. It's a great film. Its length means nothing, because you're never bored. A must...
Review of The Sorrow and the Pity
