Les hommes libres

"Free Men (les hommes libres) a masterpiece. It's a historical fiction film exploring Muslim-Jewish solidarity through the (true) story of the Shaykh of the Grand Mosque in Paris during Nazi occupied France who issued certificates for Jewish families (stating that they are Muslim) for their owns safety (the same mosque also gave 1500 Jews refuge in their basement).

Beyond it's potent themes though, it's a film that underlines the ordinariness of heroism with such subtlety & deftness. There are moments of powerful stillness that contrast with the violent reign of the Nazi's in France. I found myself pausing to reflect at some of the poetry in both the films dialogue and moments of brevity.

It's a remarkable work of art and one of the best films i've ever seen. I would ignore the critics in major publications giving this middling reviews. It reflects a wider problem in the reviews of films where the majority are white men (Analysis of reviews of top releases found that only 22.2% were written by women, with 82% of critics white). It's therefore unsurprising that, many white critics were not blown away by a film that shows a mosque as a hub of solidarity and where no white saviour is present.