Thursday, September 15, 2022

Mr. Freedom, Directed by William Klein


by BK Munn

R.I.P. William Klein (1926-2022), the expatriate American painter, photographer, and film director who created one of the more notable superhero films of the 1960s, Mr. Freedom. Known for his groundbreaking and award-winning street and fashion photography, the New York-born Klein spent most of his adult life in France, where he also directed tv commercials. Mr. Freedom is an absurdist satire on superheroes and U.S. imperialism that stars another expat, John Abbey, as the titular hero, a fascistic brute who is a clear predecessor to comic book characters like Judge Dredd, Marshall Law, and The Comedian.

The plot of the film has Dr. Freedom (Donald Pleasance) sending Mr. Freedom to France to stop the slide of the "crybaby" French culture into Communism and to investigate the death of French superhero Capt. Formidable (Yves Montand). The film was shot in France with mostly French actors (including Serge Gainsburg and the sublime Delphine Seyrig), although everyone speaks only English throughout. The film has many of the hallmarks of 1960s action and spy films (James Bond and its imitators) but despite it's dumb sub-Get Smart/Batman style plot and Saturday morning/comic book dialogue, it has many striking images and scenes, all shot in a primary colour, pop art style. Director Klein was knowledgeable about comics (he mentions his familiarity with Krazy Kat in one interview I've seen), and also produced a fumetti version of Mr. Freedom using stills from the film to promote it, pictured here. Famously, it has been called “conceivably the most anti-American movie ever made.” It's a beautiful thing!