A Nous la Liberte

Roughly translated as "here's to us two and liberty," René Clair's 1931 comic classic A Nous la Liberte bears more than a passing resemblance to the later Charlie Chaplin masterpiece Modern Times (1936) in its farcical depiction of technology run amuck (in fact, as viewers will learn in an interesting 22-minute audio essay by film historian David Robinson included on the DVD, Clair's distribution company brought a plagiarism lawsuit against Chaplin--a legal move which Clair, who had the utmost respect for Chaplin, took no part in). But the dehumanizing force of the modern industrial factory was a topic tackled in a wide range of artistic, literary, and cinematic works, and the plagiarism charge never stuck (rightfully, regardless of an out of control "conveyor belt" scene appearing in both films). A tale of two jailbirds, Emile (Henri Marchand) and Louis (Raymond Cordy), who make a partially successful break-out--Emile escapes, adopts a new identity, and eventually rises to the top of a phonograph company, while Louis never even gets over the prison wall--A Nous la Liberte's main action is set in motion years after the jailbreak, when the newly released Louis falls for an attractive young woman who just happens to be employed at the phonograph factory run by Louis's erstwhile prison mate Emile. While the complications arising from Emile's concealed identity and Louis's recognition make for some fun scenes, the real genius of Clair's film lies in its funny yet eerily prescient comic swipes at a totalitarian-like manufacturing plant, where the employees wear uniforms, are assigned numbers, and undergo random searches (on second thought, that describes--to a large extent--a good many American companies with drug-testing policies). Boasting a solid transfer, this Criterion Collection disc features, in addition to the aforementioned audio essay, the 20-minute surreal short "Entr'acte" (1924), and a 15-minute 1998 interview with Clair's widow, Madame Bronja Clair, who discusses her husband's quiet nature. Highly recommended. [Note: Also available, at the same price, Clair's Under the Roofs of Paris.] (R. Pitman)