CAST
Younes: Tahar Rahim
Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit: Michael Lonsdale
Salim Halali: Mahmoud Shalaby
Leila: Lubna Azabal
Le Major von Ratibor: Christopher Buchholz
GENRE
Drama
DISTRIBUTOR
Film Movement
RUNNING TIME 99’
PRODUCTION France, 2011
RATING Not Rated
GAUGE 3D: DCP, 35mm, DVD,
Digibeta, HDCam, Blu-Ray
“The script by Ferroukhi and Alain-Michel Blanc deftly weaves the different story
strands into an effective if not quite pulse-pounding suspenser, its fairly low-key
tenor proving helpful when some climactic business involving the last-minute rescue
of a child risks corny contrivance. Confidently handled pic is well-cast down the line,
with Rahim easily holding center as a watchful protagonist of few words. Everreliable
veteran Lonsdale and Arab-Israel newcomer Shalaby are supporting
standouts.”
Dennis Harvey, Variety.
A fascinating look at a little-known chapter in the French Resistance during
World War II, Ismaël Ferroukhi’s second film highlights the courage of a
group of Muslim agents who provided North African Jews with false
identification papers and assassinated Vichy informants. Free Men focuses
specifically on the political awakening of Younes, an illiterate Algerian
immigrant who makes his living selling goods on the black market.
To avoid prison after he’s arrested for his illegal peddling, Younes agrees
to serve as a spy for the police, reporting on the suspicious activities at
a mosque in Paris. But Younes is soon inspired by the men and women
he meets at the mosque, particularly its noble rector, Ben Ghabrit (the
distinguished veteran actor Michael Lonsdale), and a charismatic singer,
Salim, who’s involved in various underground affairs. A taut, suspenseful,
and impassioned thriller, Ferroukhi’s film rousingly depicts Younes’s
transformation from apathetic criminal to fully committed freedom fighter.
The Tournées Festival
972 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10075
