There are many ways to see this film: the story of a bet, a womanizer ( or Don Juan as we call them usually in Europe) has made a bet, to seduce a woman, but the thing seems more complicated : the divorced woman is very intelligent,she doesn't take seriously this handsome cavalry lieutenant and Armand becomes confused.
"Les grandes manoeuvres" is also a description of the "Belle Époque" , men and women looking for love, the pleasure of the good dressing, eating, drinking and dancing.
On the other side we have the description of the careless high society of a provincial some years before the world war one: marriage, dancing, tombola, military parade, concert in public garden and a lot of gossips , and as part of this pleasures a secret bet between civilian and army officers.
I think that René Clair wanted to show both aspects: a love story in which a seducer becomes seduced and a totally careless high society before a great war in which thousend of soldiers will die in the trenches of Verdun for example.
The performances of Gérard Philipe and Michèle Morgan are really very good.
Review of The Grand Maneuver
