Renoir wanted to depict people as they truly were at that point in history; he said "The Rules of the Game" was "a reconstructed documentary, a documentary on the condition of a society at a given moment." He believed this depiction was the reason behind the film's disastrous premiere, saying "the audience's reaction was due to my candour." "The Marriage of Figaro", an inspiration for the film, had also been considered controversial for its attack on the class system. "The Rules of the Game" remained controversial with the French public shortly after World War II when it was once again banned. Renoir's biographer Ronald Bergan said the film hit a raw nerve with the public by depicting "people, who might have had an influence in shaping the world, did nothing to prevent an advance of Fascism; some of whom, indeed, actually welcomed it."