Mister Freedom

An irreverent look at US nationalism, imperialism and "red panic" .A little redundant, and outstays its welcome after a while - but an enjoyable flick, after all. Less humane than other of his movies, notably the wonderful documentary on Muhammad Ali. Great cameo roles by Philippe Noiret, and the remarkable Yves Montand as a corpse. America needs more William Kleins.

A satirical look at US social and political policy during the 1960's and 70's in the context of a superhero genre. Mr. Freedom works for Freedom INC. and protects freedom around the world by blowing things up, looting, and killing. Freedom Inc. seems to be on the top floor of an office building that has other blue chip American corporations and is run by Dr. Freedom (aka - Donald Pleasence). This is not a far stretch for Donald who had problems handling Michael Meyers and was the leader of a criminal organization trying to take over the world, with only the Puma Man (pronounced Pueooma) to stop him. The movie is rather obscure and hard to follow, however, it does contain numerous hilarious scenes. The Freedom suit is by far the funniest aspect of the movie. John Abbey does a great job of portraying a John Wayne/Teddy Roosevelt stereotypical pushy American character who acts first and does not worry about the consequences. My favorite scenes are as such : Mr. Freedom's visit to the U.S Embassy in Paris (aka - Walmart) and the party crash by Red China Man of the meeting between Mr. Freedom & Moujik Man (I think its suppose to be the Soviets). Most people will get bored very quickly with this movie and could be considered an artsy movie. Even though I do not think it is a great or even a good movie it has some redeeming qualities and makes some relevant points (even for today).

William Klien's late 60's flick "Mr. Freedom" is a satire on American culture. Some people will find it mean spirited, but I personally found it hilarious. It's a pretty good critique on America's foreign policy. Mr. Freedom is a tall, flag waving patriotic style superhero. He wheres a red, white and blue football uniform and is very racist, misogynist and an egomaniac. Kind of like the dumb high school jock, who picks on everyone. He is sent on a mission to stop the spread of communism in France. He must save people from his enemy, Red China man. In order to save France and force democracy on others, he literally rapes and destroys their country. Hmmmmm, isn't there a small middle eastern country that we've been doing the same thing to? Mr. Freedom has ridiculously bright patriotic colors and subversive humor galore. The costumes look like something from a drugged out 70's children's show. Many people may feel outraged at the films satirical elements. To me, the movie was hilarious. It's a great laugh when living in these troubled times. Look for a cameo by Donald Pleasence of "Halloween". And who can forget the Mr. Freedom theme song? (Hurray for freedom, for one and for all... It's you and meet em and ten foot tall...) F-R-(double E)-D- D-O-M spells FREE-DOM and you'll notice the film puts an emphasis on DOM(dumb). Enjoy Mr. Freedom, I did!

This isn't a exactly a masterpiece, but a very brave and very funny look at American imperialism by-way of our consumerism, our over-consumption, our super-patriotism, our racism, and our basic stupidity as a nation.

But since postmodernism is thankfully dead as an intellectual fad (the public never cared about it anyway), and because history has reared its ugly head again showing that American power has its vulnerabilities, this film has become very timely, and is definitely prescient in its criticisms of American culture and economy. That doesn't mean it's supposed to be entertaining, but far be it from us Americans to understand the difference.

What's really boring is how whenever someone has the "temerity" to criticize American foreign policy, they're somehow being "pedantic" and "preachy," while the excesses of our corporate owned media get a free pass. It's a hollow argument whose lies are showing, and we've got a lot of criticism coming-our-way these days, even from our "allies" in the EU. We've earned it.

Ken Russell is much better at this kind of comic book approach to satire--he's funnier. If Klein fails--which he sometimes does in Mr. Freedom--it's only because the subject matter isn't funny. America is a real horror, just as it was in the late-1960s, with more fun to come. What makes Mr. Freedom so great is how beautiful it looks, which should come as no surprise considering its source. Klein was a very successful fashion photographer for American Vogue during the 1950s-60s.

Eventually, he grew tired and disgusted with the direction the country was taking at that time and left for France. Who can blame an intelligent man with a clue? If you can do it, then-by-all-means, do it. You couldn't make a movie like Mr. Freedom in America then, or now, and that's the real courage behind it. It was a labor of love and principle, a rarity in cinema.

Most chilling is the slaughter of a poor Black family by Mr. Freedom in the beginning prologue. That he wears a cowboy hat, uses violence to get his way, that he eats excessively, that he's intolerant of the views of others, all speaks volumes of what America is really about, and that's criminality.

William Klein's biting satire of the ugly American as superhero Mr. Freedom. It's definitely got a 60s sensibility but the subject matter is as contemporary as today's news. It becomes a little unfocused in the second half but it's a wild ride nonetheless. A real bonus is the appearance of Serge Gainsbourg as Mr. Drugstore. Warning though- if you politically lean to the right, this one might not be for you.