THE STORY & GENRE -- This is a comedy with social commentary on the Industrial Age and on happiness. Louis (Raymond Cordy) is an escaped prisoner who becomes a huge industrialist success. His accomplice Emile (Henri Marchand) is however caught and serves his time, but then is re-imprisoned for vagrancy. He escapes again after a failed suicide attempt, then by happenstance gets a job at Louis' factory. Much focus is then placed upon the "incarceration" of factory life, executive life, public life, and married life. In the end, there is another escape for Emile and Louis. The point of the film seems to be that personal freedom is more important than money and power. Although there are a few futuristic or fantasy elements, these are not the point of the film, and therefore I would say this is not genre. Rene Clair, who excelled in lighthearted fantasy (THE CRAZY RAY, IT HAPPENED TOMORROW, I MARRIED A WITCH) directs, but this also does not make it genre.
THE VERDICT -- Likable. No surprise with Clair at the helm. It's French (light) in nature, not German (heavy) like METROPOLIS, or American (blase) like MODERN TIMES, which I believe A NOUS LA LIBERTE imitates (but I would not say mocks). There is a buffoonery like Chaplin here but also a camaraderie between the leads like Laurel & Hardy, and it comes across genuine and funny. The visuals have a delightful Art Deco look. If there is any flaw, the movie just seems a bit dragged out. Solid 7.5.
FREE ONLINE -- Yes, the 84-minute USA re-release in the Criterion Collection. I have never seen a 97-minute version.
THE VERDICT -- Likable. No surprise with Clair at the helm. It's French (light) in nature, not German (heavy) like METROPOLIS, or American (blase) like MODERN TIMES, which I believe A NOUS LA LIBERTE imitates (but I would not say mocks). There is a buffoonery like Chaplin here but also a camaraderie between the leads like Laurel & Hardy, and it comes across genuine and funny. The visuals have a delightful Art Deco look. If there is any flaw, the movie just seems a bit dragged out. Solid 7.5.
FREE ONLINE -- Yes, the 84-minute USA re-release in the Criterion Collection. I have never seen a 97-minute version.