Mr. Freedom
Encyclopedia
Mr. Freedom is a 1969 film by American expatriate photographer and filmmaker William Klein
William Klein
William Klein is a photographer and filmmaker noted to for his ironic approach to both media and his extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of photojournalism and fashion photography...

. In addition to starring popular French actor Delphine Seyrig
Delphine Seyrig
Delphine Claire Beltiane Seyrig was a stage and film actress and a film director.-Early life:...

, this anti-imperialist satirical farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...

 features cameos by well-known actors Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...

 and Philippe Noiret
Philippe Noiret
Philippe Noiret was a French film actor.-Biography:Noiret's father was in the clothes trade. Philippe was an indifferent scholar and attended several prestigious Paris schools, including the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He failed several times to pass his baccalauréat exams, so he decided to study...

, as well as musician Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...

.

Plot

Under the command of Dr. Freedom, crass superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 Mr. Freedom (John Abbey
John Abbey (actor)
John Abbey is an American born actor best known for portraying the title role in the French film Mr. Freedom, directed by fellow American expatriate William Klein...

) goes to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 to stave off the advances of the mysterious French Anti-Freedom (FAF) organization. He joins forces with the femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...

Marie-Madeleine to lead his own anti-communist Freedom organization. The Freedom mission is complicated by the machinations of communist foes — the Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...

 Moujik Man and the ferocious Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...

 Red China Man (portrayed as a giant inflatable
Inflatable
An inflatable is an object that can be inflated with a gas, usually with air, but hydrogen, helium and nitrogen are also used. One of several advantages of an inflatable is that it can be stored in a small space when not inflated, since inflatables depend on the presence of a gas to maintain their...

 dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

). France, refusing to see the FAF as a threat, rebuffs Freedom, leading to an escalation of Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 tactics. In the end, betrayed, Mr. Freedom destroys himself trying to save the "unappreciative" nation.

Style

Like his previous film, Who Are You, Polly Magoo?, and reminiscent of the feel of much of Zazie in the Metro
Zazie in the Metro (film)
Zazie in the Metro is a 1960 French film directed by Louis Malle, based on the novel by Raymond Queneau.-Plot:...

, in which Klein is credited as artistic consultant, Mr. Freedom features absurd characters, comical costuming, and exaggeration. The title character's uniform is an odd assemblage of discarded football
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...

 gear, face paint, and hockey gloves. The United States Embassy is a department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 run by skipping models
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

 in spandex
Spandex
Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...

, proffering right-wing mercenaries and "Freedom Kits" of high-tech weaponry. Freedom training sessions are Dantian
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...

 visions of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 and sadism. Every scene aims for the absurd, reaching both for comedic effect and political statement.

Politics

Filmed at the height of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 and concurrently with the radical political upheaval of 1968 France, Mr. Freedom is a political farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...

, clearly sympathizing with national liberation and left wing movements. The title character, a stand-in for U.S. political and economic might, is a crude, cruel buffoon in the service of corporations. His rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...

 of freedom stands in cold relief to his actions, which are anything but democratic. The politics get a bit muddled with the characters of Mujick Man, Red China Man, and the FAF, but they would seem to be stand-ins for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, communist China, and the radical milieu of the 1968 uprisings, respectively. Mr. Freedom makes numerous left wing statements on the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, and more specifically, the Vietnam War.

Reception

The film was widely taken to be about the student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

 uprising
Uprising
-In music:* Uprising * Uprising , album by Concord Dawn* Uprising , album by Entombed* Uprising , album by Universal Poplab...

 and near revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...

 of May 1968 in France. Klein denied this, claiming that it was more a film about America. His assertion is supported by the chronology of the film's production: In May 1968 shooting was nearly wrapped up, although documentary images of marches and clashes of May were included in the final production. Nevertheless, its implicit critique of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

 and sympathy with the radical students tied the release of Mr. Freedom up with French censors. Fearing it may never be seen otherwise, Klein showed the film at the 1968 Avignon Festival. Marxist-Leninist groups criticized the political caricatures of Red China Man and other characters. Never receiving the widespread attention of other films released immediately post-1968, Mr. Freedom remains an obscure film.

Cast

  • Delphine Seyrig
    Delphine Seyrig
    Delphine Claire Beltiane Seyrig was a stage and film actress and a film director.-Early life:...

     — Marie-Madeleine
  • John Abbey
    John Abbey (actor)
    John Abbey is an American born actor best known for portraying the title role in the French film Mr. Freedom, directed by fellow American expatriate William Klein...

     — Mr. Freedom
  • Donald Pleasence
    Donald Pleasence
    Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...

     — Dr. Freedom
  • Jean-Claude Drouot
    Jean-Claude Drouot
    Jean Claude Drouot is a Belgian actor.-Biography:Jean Claude Drouot was formed in Young Theater of Université Libre de Bruxelles . Later it leaves settling down has Paris or he follows Charles Dullin's courses and has to leave of 1962, he interprets the big tragedies and rooms plays of Molière...

     — Dick Sensass
  • Serge Gainsbourg
    Serge Gainsbourg
    Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...

     — M. Drugstore
  • Yves Lefebvre
  • Rufus
    Rufus (actor)
    Rufus is the stage name of Italo-French actor Jacques Narcy. He is also called Zio Vittorio...

     — Freddie Fric
  • Sabine Sun
  • Rita Maiden — Herself
  • Colin Drake
  • Pierre Baillot
    Pierre Baillot
    Pierre Marie François de Sales Baillot was a French violinist and composer.Baillot was born in Passy and studied the violin under Giovanni Battista Viotti...

  • Raoul Billerey
  • Philippe Noiret
    Philippe Noiret
    Philippe Noiret was a French film actor.-Biography:Noiret's father was in the clothes trade. Philippe was an indifferent scholar and attended several prestigious Paris schools, including the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He failed several times to pass his baccalauréat exams, so he decided to study...

     — Moujik Man
  • Sami Frey
    Sami Frey
    Sami Frey, born Samuel Frei is a French actor. Perhaps his most famous films are En compagnie d'Antonin Artaud and Bande à part...

     — Christ
  • Catherine Rouvel
    Catherine Rouvel
    Catherine Rouvel is an acclaimed French actress. Her career spans from 1959 in television to 2004....

     — Marie-Rouge
  • Monique Chaumette — Marie
  • Odile Astie — (as Odile Astier)
  • Albert Augier
  • Jean-Luc Bideau
    Jean-Luc Bideau
    Jean-Luc Bideau is a Swiss film actor. He has appeared in over 125 films since 1965.-Selected filmography:* Les Bons Vivants * Mr...

     — Un combatant (as J.L. Bideau)
  • Jean-Claude Bouillaud — (as J.C. Bouillaud)
  • Michel Creton
    Michel Creton
    Michel Creton is a French actor.He came to international attention with the release of Un homme de trop by Costa Gavras in 1967...

  • Guy D'Avout
  • Albert Dray
  • Marcel Gassouk
  • Michèle Loubet
  • Henry Pillsbury
  • Hugues Quester
    Hugues Quester
    Hugues Quester is a French actor. He has appeared in over 60 films and television shows since 1969. He starred in Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film City of Pirates.-Selected filmography:* Mr. Freedom...

  • Eric Wasberg
  • Daniel Cohn-Bendit
    Daniel Cohn-Bendit
    Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit is a Franco-German politician, active in both countries. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and he was also known during that time as Dany le Rouge...

     — Himself (uncredited)
  • Yves Montand
    Yves Montand
    -Early life:Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, the son of poor peasants Giuseppina and Giovanni Livi, a broommaker. Montand's mother was a devout Catholic, while his father held strong Communist beliefs. Because of the Fascist regime in Italy, Montand's family left for France in...

     — Capt. Formidable (uncredited)
  • Simone Signoret
    Simone Signoret
    Simone Signoret was a French cinema actress often hailed as one of France's greatest movie stars. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award, for her role in Room at the Top...

     — Cameo appearance (uncredited)
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