History Film / TheSorrowAndThePity

* LesCollaborateurs: Lots of them. Lots and lots. Maziere was only one of 7,000 Frenchmen to serve in the "Charlemagne" division of the Waffen SS. Dr. Levy notes that the French regime under Laval passed laws that were even more racist than in Germany, and arrested Jewish children when the Nazi occupiers hadn't even asked them to.

* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: DiscussedTrope. It is noted that France was the only one of the several countries that Hitler conquered to make a formal peace with UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. While all of the other countries in Hitler's Europe had governments-in-exile in London, France officially did not. This left UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle and the Free French in an awkward position and undercut their ability to contribute to the the anti-Nazi war effort, since they had little authority, and De Gaulle had to push himself into a position as a leader by pure will and charismatic authority rather than any claim to law.

* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: DiscussedTrope. It is noted that France was the only one of the several countries that Hitler conquered to make a formal peace with UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. While all of the other countries in Hitler's Europe had governments-in-exile in London, France did not. This left de Gaulle and the Free French in an awkward position and undercut their ability to contribute to the the anti-Nazi war effort, since they had no authority, and [=DeGaulle=] had to push himself into a position as a leader by pure will rather than any claim to law.

It is a documentary recounting the history of France's defeat in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and the following four years in which France was occupied by the Germans and governed by the Nazi-friendly "Vichy France" regime of Marshal Phillipe Petain. Ophuls centers his film around the town of Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne. Part I, "The Collapse", prominently features Pierre Mendes-France, a Resistance leader who joined UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle in Britain, fought against the Germans, and became a prominent post-war politician who was briefly Prime Minister of France. Part II, "The Choice", takes the opposite perspective and features Christian de la Maziere, an aristocratic fascist who fought for Hitler in the French division of the Waffen SS, and whom later served a brief prison term.

* ShoutOut: Most Americans are probably more familiar with its constant references in Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/AnnieHall'' then have seen the film. Allen also invokes the title as a metaphor for the relationship between Alvy Singer and Annie Hall.

* LaResistance: Well, they ''were'' a thing, as Pierre Mendes-France proves, but very few French people made that choice, especially in the immediate aftermath of defeat. One villager says that he joined the Resistance because he got pissed off when German occupiers ate all the steaks made from local cows. They note that after the war President UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle upheld the "myth of the resistance" as [[IDidWhatIHadToDo a necessary noble lie]] to hide over the reality and heal the tensions.

-> '''Dr. Claude Levy''': France is the only country in Europe whose government collaborated.

* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: A theater owner in Clermont describes the partisans who threw grenades at a column of German soldiers as "terrorists." This was TruthInTelevision, the Nazis and their puppets described all partisans in every occupied region as terrorists.

* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: DiscussedTrope. It is noted that France was the only one of the several countries that Hitler conquered to make a formal peace with UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. While all of the other countries in Hitler's Europe had governments-in-exile in London, France did not. This left de Gaulle and the Free French in an awkward position and undercut their ability to contribute to the the anti-Nazi war effort.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Pierre Laval didn't live to say it, but his son-in-law defends him by saying that Laval made hard choices in order to save as many French Jews as possible. This is immediately followed by an interview with Dr. Claude Levy in which Levy says that any government that would hand over people to the Nazis isn't worthy of its country.

* StateSec: Laval's secret police, which proved pretty good at arresting Jews.

* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: A theater owner in Clermont describes the partisans who threw grenades at a column of German soldiers as "terrorists."

It is a documentary recounting the history of France's defeat in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and the following four years in which France was occupied by the Germans and governed by the Nazi-friendly "Vichy France" regime of Marshal Phillipe Petain. Ophuls centers his film around the town of Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne. Part I, "The Collapse", prominently features Pierre Mendes France, a Resistance leader who joined UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle in Britain, fought against the Germans, and became a prominent post-war politician who was briefly Prime Minister of France. Part II, "The Choice", takes the opposite perspective and features Christian de la Maziere, an aristocratic fascist who fought for Hitler in the French division of the Waffen SS, and whom later served a brief prison term.

* LaResistance: Well, they ''were'' a thing, as Pierre Mendes France proves, but very few French people made that choice, especially in the immediate aftermath of defeat. One villager says that he joined the Resistance because he got pissed off when German occupiers ate all the steaks made from local cows. They note that after the war President UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle upheld the "myth of the resistance" as [[IDidWhatIHadToDo a necessary noble lie]] to hide over the reality and heal the tensions.

* TalkingHeads: Lots, from [=VIPs=] like Anthony Eden and Pierre Mendes France to humble, common citizens of Clermont.

* LesCollaborateurs: Lots of them. Lots and lots. Maziere was only one of 7,000 Frenchmen to serve in the "Charlemagne" division of the Waffen SS.

* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: A brief clip of topless dancers in Paris, illustrating that while the majority of French people suffered, a few were enjoying the good life.

* LaResistance: Well, they ''were'' a thing, as Pierre Mendes France proves, but very few French people made that choice, especially in the immediate aftermath of defeat. One villager says that he joined the Resistance because he got pissed off when German occupiers ate all the steaks made from local cows.

* TitleDrop: A Clermont pharmacist and Resistance member is asked if there was anything besides courage in the Resistance. He answers “Of course. But the two emotions I experienced most often were sorrow and pity.”

-->- "Collaboration is 'give me your watch, I'll give you the time.'"

* LesCollab0rateurs: Lots of them. Lots and lots. Maziere was only one of 7,000 Frenchmen to serve in the "Charlemagne" division of the Waffen SS.

* LaResistance: Well, they ''were'' a thing, as Pierre Mendes France proves, but very few French people made that choice, especially in the immediate aftermath of defeat.

* StockFootage: Forms the bulk of the movie, with combat footage, old newsreels, and more.

* LesCollabarateurs: Lots of them. Lots and lots. Maziere was only one of 7,000 Frenchmen to serve in the "Charlemagne" division of the Waffen SS.