Friday, September 11, 2009

Mister Freedom (Directed by William Klein)



Today marks the 8th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place on American soil in 2001. While browsing through the video store, I wanted to watch something that was relevant to this occasion and Mister Freedom caught my attention...

Simply stated, this film is beyond satire. For some, Mister Freedom is very real.

The human personification of America has been used in many films but none have come close to the depth of William Klein's Mister Freedom. It is apparent that Klein, an expatriate of the United States, dug deep when he wrote, directed, and designed this film.

With costumes made entirely of sports equipment and villains who are little more than balloons, this film struck me as a child's wild fantasy. Remember when you were a kid and you could turn a skateboard into a get away vehicle and a tennis ball into a grenade while playing cops & robbers with your friends in the neighborhood? Well Mister Freedom is just that, but with grown up political commentary. Perhaps this is all a child's game on the world stage...

Although decades have passed since the premiere of this film, I think it would be interesting to see a Mister Freedom film undertake our modern political issues.