
À nous la liberté
À nous la liberté (English: Freedom for Us) is a 1931 French film directed by René Clair. With a score by Georges Auric, the film has more music than any of Clair's early works.
Plot
The film opens with an image of a wooden toy horse. Gradually we observe that this is an assembly line in a prison, staffed by prisoners. They sing (La liberté, c'est pour les heureux = "Freedom is for the happy") as they work. Close-ups of two prisoners (Louis and Émile, the film's main protagonists) indicate they've taken a work tool. The prisoner next to Louis occasionally looks on, looking somewhat bored. After dinner everyone goes back to their cell. After feigning sleep during a guard's nightly rounds, Louis and Émile sing the title song as they resume a project of sawing off the prison window. Émile cuts himself, and Louis kindly mends the wound with a handkerchief. The window breaks free and they attempt to escape. Louis is able to get over the retaining wall, but Émile is not successful. Louis escapes, accidentally knocks someone off a bicycle, and rides off on the bicycle. Meanwhile, we hear a chorus suggesting he's about to be captured (Ce sera bientôt fini = "It'll soon be over"). Louis heads into a village emblazoned with the words "Finishing Line" - the cyclist he knocked over was in a bicycle race, and Louis has won first prize.
More details
author | René Clair |
---|---|
contentLocation | France |
director | René Clair |
editor | René Le Hénaff |
genre | comedy |
keywords | absent minded assembly line attempt to escape begin bicycle race break out capture charlie chaplin dinner party entertain escaped convict factory follow how to life style long luna park main protagonist modern times old man open paint pick up record record player search see below shadow sing sleep talk test think tie up to remember top hat trap understand wooden toy |
musicBy | Georges Auric |
nomination | Academy Award for Best Production Design |
producer | Frank Clifford |
publisher | Films Sonores Tobis Joseph Burstyn |
theme | dance musical comedy |