À nous la liberté (1931)

Director:

René Clair

Writer:

René Clair (story)

Release Date:

31 December 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

Le chef-d'oeuvre de René Clair

Plot:

A famous left-wing satirical comedy about two ex-convicts, one of whom escaped jail and then worked his way up from salesman to factory owner...

Plot Keywords:

Worker | Friend | Factory | Ex Convict | Escape

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Henri Marchand	...	Émile
Raymond Cordy	...	Louis
Rolla France	...	Jeanne
Paul Ollivier	...	L'oncle (as Paul Olivier)
Jacques Shelly	...	Paul
André Michaud	...	Le contremaitre
Germaine Aussey	...	Maud - la femme de Louis
Léon Lorin	...	Le vieux monsieur sourd
William Burke	...	L'ancien détenu
Vincent Hyspa	...	Le vieil orateur

Also Known As:

À nous la liberté! (France) (alternative spelling)
Freedom for Us (International: English title)
Liberty for Us (USA)

Runtime:

104 min | USA:83 min (re-release) | USA:97 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1950) | UK:U | USA:Approved

Company:

Films Sonores Tobis

Trivia:

First film not in English to receive an Oscar nomination

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Voice over Singer]: Liberty is the happy man's due / He enjoys love and skies of blue / But then there are some / Who no worse crimes have done / It's the sad story we tell / From a prison cell

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Champagne Safari (1995)

We Are Free

Usually held up as a significant film due to its place between silence and talk, and as an early satire on the burden of the working class, this is certainly interesting. There is symbolism from beginning to end with workers lined up at the gates of factories contrasted with prisoners making little toy horses. One man escapes and becomes a great entrepreneur while his friend is left behind, yearning for freedom. The result is an odd couple. The men eventually work together, but the second man becomes a real liability. I guess we are supposed to see him as a sympathetic care, trying to get the young woman he pines for, but he comes off as a real pain in the butt, messing up just about everything he touches. I am going to say I appreciate the early cinematography and the way the story is told, but I can't say it was terribly engaging. The conclusion with its fishing utopia is just too silly for my tastes.