Emile and Louis are two jailed friends who dream of freedom and plan to escape. Louis is successful and becomes a phonograph factory tycoon, after Emile finally breaks out he seeks work at Louis' factory. Tho initially the harshness of industrialisation keeps them poles apart, they both come to realise that friendship and being honest to oneself is far more rewarding than love or any sort of financial gain.

À nous la liberté {orginaly titled Liberté chérie}is a truly biting musical satire written and directed by the considerably talented René Clair. Filmed without a script, with Clair giving his actors free licence to improvise, the picture focuses on the dehumanisation of workers at an industrial plant. Shifting as it does from prison to this monstrosity place of work, the viewer is forced to wonder just exactly which is the prison of the picture? For workers trundle in to work, punching in to a clock and sitting at a conveyor belt for hours on end, they are merely robots for this corporate machine, life is indeed desperately dull.

Clair pulls no punches in portraying everyone who doesn't work on the shop floor as greedy capitalist schemers, one sequence literally see the elite grasping for Francs strewn by the mounting storm. This wind of change also releases Emile and Louis from their respective constraints, and it's thru this change that we the viewer are rewarded with a truly uplifting ending that closes the film magnificently. The picture was a flop on its initial release, managing to offend parties from various corners of the globe, but now in this day and age the film has come to be hailed as something of a French masterpiece, coming some five years before Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times {Clair's camp even wanted to sue Chaplin for plagiarism, but Clair actually took it as a compliment}, this clearly is the template movie for industrial indictment. At times devilishly funny, at others poignantly sad, À nous la liberté is a cinematic gem that all serious film lovers should digest at least once. 9/10

This early talkie is an unexpected joy to watch and an artful piece of transitional cinema. It's difficult to believe that Charlie Chaplin claimed he never saw René Clair's fanciful 1931 musical comedy since it predates many of the same leitmotifs that came up in "Modern Times" five years later, including pointed jabs at corporate greed interlaced with Keystone Cops-style slapstick. In fact, Clair seems completely inspired by Chaplin in the way he carefully orchestrates the chase scenes and the robotic assembly line in this film, so much so that Chaplin borrowed back the visual cues in "Modern Times".

Clair sets up his story as an elaborate parable centered on two convicts, best friends Émile and Louis, who make toy horses in the prison assembly line. In a long-planned attempt to escape, Émile escapes thanks to a generous leg-up from Louis, who is caught and returned back to their cell. Years pass, and Émile becomes a successful industrialist in charge of a phonograph manufacturing business. Meanwhile, Louis serves out his term and upon release, ironically finds himself working in the assembly line of Émile's factory. After some hesitation, Louis and Émile reunite and join forces with a rapid-fire series of chaotic complications leading the two friends to realize that a life away from work may be their true fate.

The film master does not belabor his sociopolitical statements about materialism, but it is intriguing in hindsight to appreciate the film's prescience in showing France disconnected from the encroaching Nazi menace. Moreover, the film boasts startling visual elements thanks to Lazare Meerson's unmistakably Expressionist art direction. Henri Marchand and Raymond Cordy make a fine comedy team as Émile and Louis, though what really shines is the timeless spirit that Clair imbues this film. The 2002 Criterion Collection DVD includes two deleted scenes, a brief 1998 interview with Clair's widow, and a twenty-minute short, "Entr'acte", that Clair made with French artists Francis Picabia and Erik Satie. Speaking of Chaplin, in an audio essay, film historian David Robinson describes the plagiarism suit that the film's producers brought against Charlie Chaplin when "Modern Times" was released.

In 1931, many of the films made in France were still silents and the industry was several years behind Hollywood. In this context, it's incredible that such a creative and unusual film was released. While it is far from perfect, it's got a lot going for it and is a nice bit of social commentary.

The film begins with two prisoners trying to escape from their dull and overly regimented existence in prison. One actually does escape--the other is stuck behind but eventually escapes as well. The first guy goes from escaped prisoner to owner of a huge company producing record players--a real self--made millionaire. The problem is, his factory is run almost exactly like the assembly line from prison shown at the beginning of the film. When the second guy escapes, he is hired by this company and adapts very poorly to this mechanized regimen. There's MUCH more to it than this, but since other reviewers have discussed the film at length, I'll stop in explaining the plot.

Interestingly enough, a very similar film came out a few years later from Charlie Chaplin (MODERN TIMES) and the parallels are definitely there. However, director Clair didn't feel offended by this, but the production company instituted a lawsuit against Chaplin. The problem is that imitation IS legal--heck, you can even use the exact same title as another film if you'd really like. PLUS, I noticed that Clair actually borrowed very heavily from Chaplin!! The sympathetic second prisoner is so much like Chaplin's Little Tramp and the parallels here are also quite obvious! The way he walks, the double-takes, the klutziness, the sweetness and his inability in the end to get the girl--all very Chaplin-like--and apparently inspired by THE CIRCUS and several other Chaplin films.

I think this controversy is a lousy thing because it obscures the fact that BOTH are excellent films--though I'd definitely give the nod to MODERN TIMES. While derivative, he was able to do so much more with the material--with amazing sight gags that were missing from Clair's film--which was not nearly as funny.

By the way, had this film been made just a few years later, it would have gotten a much lower score. But, compared to the films being made in 1931, it is quite the movie.