The first militant left-wing film made in France, and the only official film of the Popular Front, La Vie est à nous bears the mark of its supervising director Jean Renoir, but was a collective effort by many of the best directors and cinematographers working in France at the time. Described by Pierre Bost as "at once a documentary, a montage, and an anthology of persuasive sketches," the film gives a portrait of the 200 families said to rule France, of French Fascist demonstrations, and of activities and reactions of various working people. The information is translated into "a brilliant work of art, stylistically characteristic of Renoir during his best period" (Georges Sadoul). A highlight is Renoir's mischievous editing in which the Fascist leader, Colonel de la Rocque, performs an idiotic little dance to the barking sounds of Adolph Hitler.