I can’t believe I’ve never thought about the lives of Muslims in Europe during World War II. It’s something that has never occurred to me. There have been plenty of films about the Nazi occupation of France but Muslims have always seemed absent in them. Knowing nothing on the subject, I can only imagine this has more to do with Muslims not often being represented in film than anything else. According to the history of Free Men, however, Nazis weren’t so interested in the followers of Muhammad.I don’t know if Free Men’s take is a completely accurate of portrayal of the tensions at the time (I imagine many Muslims were killed or arrested by the Nazis during WWII), but it’s an interesting situation. In the film, a young Algerian in Paris avoids arrest by agreeing to spy on a Mosque that is suspected of harboring Jews and creating false documents for them to pose as Muslim. Younes becomes close to a well-known Algerian singer who is hiding the fact that he is a Jew. The ideas of Muslims secretly aiding Jews and Jews hiding out as Muslim are pretty fascinating given the ancient climate of hatred between the two peoples. Unfortunately, Free Men never fully explores these issues.Director Ismaël Ferroukhi takes a complex political situation during one of the most complicated and nightmarish times and makes a pretty hum-drum film out of it. Through the first half of the film, there is a lifeless, aimless feeling — I couldn’t make out where the film was going or what it was trying to say. It is able to find its stride half-way through, when the pace picks up and becomes more focused directly on the relationship between the young Muslim and young Jew but it is ultimately too late to fully immerse the audience. Ferroukhi seems to rely on viewers being sucked in by the basic issues surrounding the film but, as they aren’t fully developed, it doesn’t hold up.The film’s young star, Tahar Rahim (most known for his stunning performance in Jacques Audiard’s Un prophète) continues to prove he is an actor to watch, but his role doesn’t do much to help. Truthfully, his character arc is very similar to the role that first got him attention — Younes starts as a troubled but innocent young man who, due to the terrible situation he finds himself in, grows up really quickly. In Free Men, though, the character is too bland and the transition into a hardened badass doesn’t quite work. Similarly, Michel Lonsdale is as good as ever though he isn’t given much to do as the leader of the suspected Mosque.Not every thriller needs to be heart-pounding but there was too little for me to grab onto to enjoy the film on even a purely entertainment level. Without any directorial style and too much screen time before any narrative direction can be found, the film drags along slowly. Still, Free Men is a film on a topic that we don’t often get to explore. Though not successful, it has brought issues to my attention that I would love to research more. If Rahim and Ferroukhi continue to make personal films about being a Muslim in a world where few Muslim stories are told, this will ultimately be a good thing.
I can’t believe I’ve never thought about the lives of Muslims in Europe during World War II. It’s something that has never occurred to me. There have been plenty of films about the Nazi occupation of France but Muslims have always seemed absent in them. Knowing nothing on the subject, I can only imagine this has more to do with Muslims not often being represented in film than anything else. According to the history of Free Men, however, Nazis weren’t so interested in the followers of Muhammad.I don’t know if Free Men’s take is a completely accurate of portrayal of the tensions at the time (I imagine many Muslims were killed or arrested by the Nazis during WWII), but it’s an interesting situation. In the film, a young Algerian in Paris avoids arrest by agreeing to spy on a Mosque that is suspected of harboring Jews and creating false documents for them to pose as Muslim. Younes becomes close to a well-known Algerian singer who is hiding the fact that he is a Jew. The ideas of Muslims secretly aiding Jews and Jews hiding out as Muslim are pretty fascinating given the ancient climate of hatred between the two peoples. Unfortunately, Free Men never fully explores these issues.Director Ismaël Ferroukhi takes a complex political situation during one of the most complicated and nightmarish times and makes a pretty hum-drum film out of it. Through the first half of the film, there is a lifeless, aimless feeling — I couldn’t make out where the film was going or what it was trying to say. It is able to find its stride half-way through, when the pace picks up and becomes more focused directly on the relationship between the young Muslim and young Jew but it is ultimately too late to fully immerse the audience. Ferroukhi seems to rely on viewers being sucked in by the basic issues surrounding the film but, as they aren’t fully developed, it doesn’t hold up.The film’s young star, Tahar Rahim (most known for his stunning performance in Jacques Audiard’s Un prophète) continues to prove he is an actor to watch, but his role doesn’t do much to help. Truthfully, his character arc is very similar to the role that first got him attention — Younes starts as a troubled but innocent young man who, due to the terrible situation he finds himself in, grows up really quickly. In Free Men, though, the character is too bland and the transition into a hardened badass doesn’t quite work. Similarly, Michel Lonsdale is as good as ever though he isn’t given much to do as the leader of the suspected Mosque.Not every thriller needs to be heart-pounding but there was too little for me to grab onto to enjoy the film on even a purely entertainment level. Without any directorial style and too much screen time before any narrative direction can be found, the film drags along slowly. Still, Free Men is a film on a topic that we don’t often get to explore. Though not successful, it has brought issues to my attention that I would love to research more. If Rahim and Ferroukhi continue to make personal films about being a Muslim in a world where few Muslim stories are told, this will ultimately be a good thing.
