A Nous la Liberte (1931) :
Brief Review -
Clair's delightful Frech comedy and deservingly known as his crowning achievement of scenic designing. In early 30s period French Cinema was literally going beyond typical notions of filmmaking and yet they discovered a lot keeping the mainstream flow intact. A Nous la Liberte is another fine example of mainstream plus offbeat cinema in early era of talkies. It may look outdated today and even for its time considering some other brilliant classics made in world cinema before it but it still gives enough satisfaction of watching something new. The film is about two convicts who breaks out from prison to seek a good life in society. One of them becomes and accidental hero and the other one finds tough luck, only for some time. Later, two of them face each other in different situations and their friendship grows even better outside prison. This simple plot takes hilarious directions towards end to create a laugh riot. Henri Marchand and Raymond Cordy's chemistry is great. They perform every angle perfectly whether it is comic or dramatic or serious scene. Watch out for their tramp activities even while being in sophisticated ventures. The lady star Rolla France looks gorgeous as Jeanne but there's nothing more than this to it. Rene Clair had been thinking out of the boundaries and mainstream formulas and he successfully broke many barriers that time with his earlier films. Even after doing so good with early films he still manages to break a new formula with A Nous la Liberte as he mixes the French society issues in comedy soup to deliver a thought-provoking funny film. Overall, it's a great watch even for today's time without any compromises with your mindset. A sensible comedy never bores.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest
Clair's delightful Frech comedy and deservingly known as his crowning achievement of scenic designing. In early 30s period French Cinema was literally going beyond typical notions of filmmaking and yet they discovered a lot keeping the mainstream flow intact. A Nous la Liberte is another fine example of mainstream plus offbeat cinema in early era of talkies. It may look outdated today and even for its time considering some other brilliant classics made in world cinema before it but it still gives enough satisfaction of watching something new. The film is about two convicts who breaks out from prison to seek a good life in society. One of them becomes and accidental hero and the other one finds tough luck, only for some time. Later, two of them face each other in different situations and their friendship grows even better outside prison. This simple plot takes hilarious directions towards end to create a laugh riot. Henri Marchand and Raymond Cordy's chemistry is great. They perform every angle perfectly whether it is comic or dramatic or serious scene. Watch out for their tramp activities even while being in sophisticated ventures. The lady star Rolla France looks gorgeous as Jeanne but there's nothing more than this to it. Rene Clair had been thinking out of the boundaries and mainstream formulas and he successfully broke many barriers that time with his earlier films. Even after doing so good with early films he still manages to break a new formula with A Nous la Liberte as he mixes the French society issues in comedy soup to deliver a thought-provoking funny film. Overall, it's a great watch even for today's time without any compromises with your mindset. A sensible comedy never bores.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest