It had the premise, the wardrobe and the set design to be something special in the absurdist farce genre. And failed spectacularly.
I'm hazarding a guess, but it seems to me that director William Klein is (still alive?) a pretty ardent Alfred Jarry fan and this was an effort to mimic his surrealist theater in an attempt to skewer the concept of "American Empire". The contempt, both warranted and unwarranted, has no subtlety whatsoever - it's filmed at a Banana Splits teevee show level, albeit less entertaining in delivery.
There is no coherence or continuity in the story, the acting often painful, the direction amateur film school level. The opening few minutes are haphazard and forced, as though there was only budget for single takes, and that sets the standard for the remaining 90. I have to say this was one of those films that is a chore to watch - that you only go the distance to prove you can.
Which is a crying shame. The costumes and sets had the potential for something truly special as far as absurdist splatstick goes. Other reviewers compare the absurdism to Dr. Strangelove. I have a more appropriate comparison - The Day the Fish Came Out (which destroyed Mihalis Kakogiannis' career): that is how you make the theater of the absurd come to life on screen. But Mr. Freedom is just a poor case of squandered opportunity and resources. Sad.
I'm hazarding a guess, but it seems to me that director William Klein is (still alive?) a pretty ardent Alfred Jarry fan and this was an effort to mimic his surrealist theater in an attempt to skewer the concept of "American Empire". The contempt, both warranted and unwarranted, has no subtlety whatsoever - it's filmed at a Banana Splits teevee show level, albeit less entertaining in delivery.
There is no coherence or continuity in the story, the acting often painful, the direction amateur film school level. The opening few minutes are haphazard and forced, as though there was only budget for single takes, and that sets the standard for the remaining 90. I have to say this was one of those films that is a chore to watch - that you only go the distance to prove you can.
Which is a crying shame. The costumes and sets had the potential for something truly special as far as absurdist splatstick goes. Other reviewers compare the absurdism to Dr. Strangelove. I have a more appropriate comparison - The Day the Fish Came Out (which destroyed Mihalis Kakogiannis' career): that is how you make the theater of the absurd come to life on screen. But Mr. Freedom is just a poor case of squandered opportunity and resources. Sad.