Free Men (2011)

75% of critics liked it
(28 reviews)
62% of users liked it
(303 ratings)

In German-occupied Paris, a young unemployed Algerian named Younes (played by break-out star, Tahar Rahim) earns his living as a black marketeer. Arrested by the French police but given a chance to avoid jail, Younes agrees to spy on the Paris Mosque. The police suspect the Mosque authorities,… More In German-occupied Paris, a young unemployed Algerian named Younes (played by break-out star, Tahar Rahim) earns his living as a black marketeer. Arrested by the French police but given a chance to avoid jail, Younes agrees to spy on the Paris Mosque. The police suspect the Mosque authorities, including its rector Ben Ghabrit, of aiding Muslim Resistance agents and helping North African Jews by giving them false certificates. At the Mosque, Younes meets the Algerian singer Salim Halali, and is moved by Salim's beautiful voice and strong personality. When Younes discovers that Salim is Jewish, he stops collaborating with the police and gradually transforms from a politically ignorant immigrant into a fully-fledged freedom fighter. -- (C) Film Movement

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Ismael Ferroukhi
Written By: Ismael Ferroukhi, Alain-Michel Blanc
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Mar 16, 2012 Limited
Studio: Film Movement

Critic Reviews

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
The film benefits greatly from Rahim's subtle, effective performance; and it's inevitably heartening to see Jewish and Muslim Algerians identify themselves in national, not ethnic or religious, terms, while fighting a common enemy.
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
Rahim has the eyes of the young Mandy Patinkin. If only he had some of the wildness.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
"Free Men" is so-so, but it is driven by a mischievously interesting idea: that Muslims and Jews have more in common than they normally allow.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
A worthy and interesting chapter to the tradition of World War II dramas of conscience.
Benjamin Mercer, Village Voice
Free Men never feels like a movie about a developing conscience, due largely to the shallowness of the protagonist as written and, by extension, Rahim's portrayal...
Dennis Harvey, Variety
A satisfying wartime espionage drama focused on little-noted intersections between Arabic emigres and the French Resistance.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
They are people worth knowing about and pondering in our present, conflicted times.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
[A] socially nutritious, unimpeachably competent, but shapeless and sluggish wartime drama about the little-known collaboration between North African immigrants and the French Resistance.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
I kept hoping to get caught up in it in more than a coolly intellectual way, but that never happened.
Steve Rose, Guardian [UK]
The tension doesn't grip as it should, but it's a worthwhile reminder of a moment of Muslim-Jewish co-operation.
Antonia Quirke, Financial Times
Free Men tells the little-known true story of a mosque in Paris that sheltered Jewish citizens hiding from the authorities during the second world war.
Adam Woodward, Little White Lies
Passionate if insubstantial period piece. Rahim is the real deal, though.
Tim Evans, Sky Movies
It's a quietly thoughtful film that eschews cheap sentimentality and - through the assured performance of Rahim - demonstrates that good can come from the most unlikely places.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Enjoyable French wartime drama that brings a new perspective to a familiar story and features a compelling central performance from Tahar Rahim, but the plot is occasionally frustrating and appears to lack direction.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
Ferroukhi fails to communicate much of the fear and paranoia of living in an occupied city.
David Hughes, Empire Magazine
It may lack the punch of his turn in A Prophet, but Rahim again dominates the screen in an effective wartime thriller.
Tom Dawson, Total Film
Modest in both budget and impact, it's nonetheless intelligently executed...
Miles Fielder, The List
Loosely based on real events, this espionage drama set during World War II focuses on the largely overlooked cooperation between Arabic immigrants and the French Resistance.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
One of those espionage/war movies in which the usual thrilling chases and shootouts take a back seat to the transformations that occur in the protagonists' minds.
Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times
A cannily shot thriller.