Mr. Freedom (1969)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Wow!! To my taste this is far funnier and less campy than Dr Strangelove. Talk about the arid intellectual- Dr. Strangelove pulls his punches and spoons-out his laughs. Mr. Freedom has the bold "logo-rhhea" power to come out and blame The Reds *AND* The Blacks for all his troubles- Not fun or funny? Maybe Kubrick makes better 'cinema'- or maybe he's just lingering over mild material. Klein is committed, overt; profoundly radical. I've seen nothing like this script, but overall- especially the direction, invention & conviction- it reminds me of "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension". Except where Americans describe Buckaroo as "agreeably insane", Mr. Freedom comes from some different country. OTOH- None of these films depend on any nuance. It is probable that the first 40 minutes are the most astounding of Mr. Freedom's bizarrely breathless life. After that we're asked to buy into the TV-Batman premise; then we proceed along an escalating series of staged confrontations- offering no development 'per se', but plentiful poignant wordplay. Whole pages of the script are totally "quotable", but possibly poisoned. So if one isn't angered by our corporate-imperialist history in Europe (i.e., the Cold War ('Red Chinaman', 'Mr. Moujik' ('peasant' in Russian)), the 1960's Marseilles underground (represented as Mafia lowlife "Mr. Drugstore" (Turk Sweet, anyone?))) & some very similar Euro-Colonialist history - then yeah, it'll all sound 'stupid'. Well the fun here is part surreal/comics- but it's *All* satirical- i.e., depends on deeper connections. And "literate" is Problem #1 for USA-educated, Depression-Generation video-gamers. A grounding in international politics just won't match the power-fantasies of Fox-TV Gulf-war coverage for jingoistic thrill-kills/per-minute. But anyone who reads to stay awake should appreciate Director William Klein's ambitious coup. Anyone ready for 'System of a Down' or 'Rage Against the Machine' etc. should score (& another historic value IS the scrappy score by Serge Gainsborough (also seen at the piano)). Vive the French Anti-Freedom League! Vive Paris 1968!

Pure cinematic agony. An anti-American masturbatory fantasy seemingly made by a troupe of first-semester film-school students. Don't believe any of the other votes or comments here -- they're only promoting the film because they think that by doing so they will help to damage the reputation of the United States. But the only reputation this film damages is that of the filmmaker and anyone who claims to have liked it.If you don't believe me, go ahead -- I dare you to buy or rent a copy of "Mr. Freedom" and try to sit through the entire thing. I guarantee that a queasy combination of disgust, boredom and an earache will compel you to abandon the film before you even get halfway through.

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.

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).