Free Men is a fictional historical drama set during WWII and relates events that actually occurred, but follows a fictional main character. Free Men shows how he transforms from being an immigrant only concerned with his survival in a foreign land to a man who inadvertently then passionately becomes a member of the Resistance. Free Men suggests that such work may have laid the groundwork for Algerian independence from France’s colonialist grip. Free Men may have been too subtle and nuanced for me to understand everything that unfolded. I think that it was a great and compelling film, but I left with a lot of questions that perhaps were already answered in the movie, but were lost in translation. Free Men unfolds in Paris, but focuses on people who are not from France, Algerian immigrants so as an American viewer, I’ve got a few more barriers to break through before I can understand the film: language barriers, two different cultures (French and Algerian), the immigrant experience, the historical period and possibly a subtext of the main character’s sexuality. Oddly enough, the main obstacle for me was visual. Tahar Rahim, the actor who plays the main character, looks like he is from our time period until the very end of the film when he grows a mustache. I’m a big fan of Michael Lonsdale, especially after his amazing performance in Of Gods and Men, but I did wonder how Algerians felt about him playing such a notable Algerian historical figure. I think that it is great that there is more information being circulated about the heroic involvement of Muslims in resisting the Nazis and rescuing Jews, and if it is a subject that interests you, I would recommend also watching a documentary called Among the Righteous.