Along with those of Vigo, the films of Jean Renoir are the most tentative in the history of the cinema. They work by indirection, implying qualities and attitudes that are rarely stated directly. Occasionally, something like a choric comment by one of his characters gives us a clue to Renoir's own atittude, a clue that we might be tempted to relate to something similar said by another character in a different film. For Renoir's films add up to one immensely rich and varied single work. Renoir himself is obviously conscious of this continuity. (p. 68)

More so than with any other film-maker, each individual film by Jean Renoir gains depth and lucidity when placed in the context of his complete works, when illuminated by the recurring motifs and structural characteristics of his other achievements. (p. 69)

Passion, Friendship, Nature—these three words might serve as focal points around which we...