In this classic French satire, Louis, a convict, escapes from prison and takes on legitimate work, making his way up in the business world. Eventually becoming the head of a successful factory, Louis opts to modernize his company with mechanical innovations. But when his friend Émile finally leaves jail years later and reunites with Louis, the past catches up with them. The two, worried about being apprehended by police, long to flee the confines of industry.
Freedom for Us, Escape to Freedom, A Nós a Liberdade, À Nous la Liberté, A me la libertà, Es lebe die Freiheit, A Nós, a Liberdade, Éljen a szabadság!, 我们等待自由, Viva la libertad, Свободу нам, Свободу нам!, Niech żyje wolność, 우리에게 자유를, Två lyckliga hjärtan, Visca la llibertat!
France
JapanG
France
Japan
In its first fifteen minutes, this anticapitalist satire immediately demonstrates that life for the working class is almost indistinguishable from imprisonment, and also shows how the cruel cycles of competition can corrupt anyone in power, regardless of their history. It continues with a fast pace, and crafts humorous situations around a complex but almost universal idea: thanks to everyone’s societally-mandated focus on work, we’re only equipped to deal with the most immediate problems in front of us, and we lack the time and energy to consider the roots of those problems and the long-term consequences of our solutions. It’s one of the richest satires I’ve ever seen, effortlessly turning the stupidity of wealthy lifestyles and industrial labor systems into light entertainment. Oh, and it’s a quasi-musical!
The best way to describe René Clair's films is just to say they are pure fun. No other director besides maybe Chaplin was making movies as fun and entertaining as Clair. This is a story about a man who escapes prison and becomes a rich man. It's a simple setup that is used to a great degree. Every scene has a great gag or joke that is done perfectly. I actually thought this was pretty similar to something Chaplin would have made. This is instantly one of my new favorite movies from the 30s and makes me incredibly excited to watch more from Clair.
The last breathe of 19th century Europe somewhere between Buñuel and Chaplin.
This film kept bringing to mind an episode of the Office (US version), where the staff finds out one of their coworkers was a felon and spent time in jail. This coworker openly explains what his time incarcerated was like on a day to day basis only to have the entire staff coming to the realization, if somewhat facetiously, that they were actually envious of his time behind bars when compared to their own days at work. Naturally Michael, taking it seriously, will spend the rest of the ep trying to convince everyone how much better a day at the office is compared to jail.
This was actually a little more complex than most silent films that come to mind…
À Nous la Liberté draws a plethora of parallels with life in prison with having a career at a manufacturing plant. Written and directed by René Clair, it's a perpetually amusing French comedy which centres on the adventures of escaped prisoner Louis, who is played superbly by Raymond Cordy. Louis reinvents himself. He rapidly rises the corporate ladder to become an owner of a phonograph factory when his former jail cell companion, and rolling stone, Emile (Henri Marchand) arrives at the factory to attempt some casual employment. It doesn't take long for them to come face to face with one another, leading to a renewed camaraderie.
Charlie Chaplin conceivably reconstructs many of its scenes for his movie Modern Times, and…
1st René Clair
A film with unexpectedly radical and subversive meaning. Not only is it anti-capitalist and pro-worker, it also has a barely concealed queer subtext. It tells the story of two prisoners who break out but with very different results. One becomes a successful businessman making music boxes, while the other stumbles around as a low paid worker. Eventually, they reunite and havoc is caused. Clair made this as the third of his thirties musicals that established his reputation as one of the great pioneers of sound cinema, and it's a very advanced film. Music in one form or another is heard throughout, making it almost more of an operetta than a musical. He also contrasts the deceiving quality…
Going beyond the usual Clair vs. Chaplin debate, A Nous la Liberté is a superior film in terms of satire and criticism. The neoliberal motors of the "organization and progress" motto carry the idea that "work is liberty"; not only that is a lie, but also an idea carried out by modern industrialization enterprises and factories. Addressing such hard topics in a comedic, slapstick way is one of the most unusual moves I've ever seen in cinema (Chaplin may have thought the same). Hence, the ending is a hilarious irony: the substitution of labor by machines and capital caused the exact opposite result. That's the motto of exploitation: "either you accept my preposterous wage or you can eat dust".
96/100
Two friends plan their escape of prison, one manages to become a rich man while the other doesn't. Their friendship will soon be put into test, and big decisions will have to be made.
So fun fact, apparently this movie heavily inspired Charles Chaplin's final tramp outing in "Modern Times," and I would dare to say it also had played a major role on other filmmakers like Tati and even I got some of the whimsy from Mel Brooks parody and Wes Anderson.
Unfortunately this is the case where the student got to beat the master. There are some really nice elements and enough laughs to make you have a good time. There was something about the musical-esque approach that made all of this much special.
All in all, again, while many that came after Clair have done a better job on this movie, just out of the curiosity I would give this a watch.
freedom is all life but men have created prisons, regulations and laws. work, offices, houses, i'm right there, aren't i? yes chum, life is beautiful, when you know freedom let's settle for freedom it's fine fresh air.
à nous la liberté
a critique of capitalism far ahead of its time, rené clair constructs a narrative that is quite surprising for its time,
in a satirical way he builds a story around two ex-prisoners, louis and émile, who follow different paths, the script is not that wow but it is very intelligent, even more so for that time
and it is simply brilliant the analogy that clair makes of the conditions inside the factories with those of a prison, that condition of work with an extreme rhythm of discipline, submission, military.
so old, yet so current, no doubt it was one of the influences for chaplin's modern times.
Random movie from: The Oxford History of World Cinema
Hey, finally I found this hidden gem!
At least, unlike the first film on Wednesday night, Jean Renoir’s French Cancan (1955), which I watched all the way through without remembering that I had watched (and reviewed) it a couple of years ago, the sound of the marching prisoners’ clogs on the stone floor early on reminded me that I had seen, and reviewed writer/director René Clair’s comedy before as well. As usual, I will not repeat things from that review but stick to things that particularly stood out for me on this rewatch.
While the story of two friends who meet in jail, Louis (Raymond Cordy) and Émile (Henri Marchand), and meet up again years later after Émile has sacrificed his freedom so Louis can escape and Louis has become a…
