Freedom Plot Summary
Freedom is a French film by filmmaker Mélanie Laurent, inspired by the life of the notorious gentleman thief of the ’80s French crime scene, Bruno Saluk.
Starring Emily in Paris sensation Lucas Bravo, the film loosely follows Bruno Saluk’s life from his robberies of shopping stores and jewelry to prison breaks and escapades until his tragic ending.
How did Saluk escape prison for the first time?
Bruno Saluk is first arrested when an insider reveals the details about his and his team’s locations in exchange for the insider’s release from a case. Bruno and his partner, Annie, are arrested by the police, and eventually, Bruno is put in prison while on trial.
During his stay in prison, he meets a fellow robber serving a 12-year sentence, Jean-Loup Lablache. The two immediately become friends, owing to Bruno’s charismatic and affable personality. They then begin sawing through an iron bar on the window and collecting steel forks in preparation for their grand escape.
On the fateful night after routine checks, Bruno and Lablache break the iron bar and escape through the window. Using a rope and a fork, Bruno is able to climb onto the prison wall, but Lablache soon realizes he cannot. Promising he will come back for Lablache, Bruno breaks free from the prison.
Who helped Saluk get free during the second arrest?
After his first escape, Bruno is involved in a series of jewelry robberies, which ultimately lead to Bruno and his partner, Steve, breaking into the prison to free Lablache.
However, while on vacation at his hotel room with Annie, the police are able to tap his phone call with a buyer, and they arrest Bruno at the scene. After his trial, in which he is sentenced to a 3-year prison term, Steve breaks into the train while Bruno is en route to prison and frees him.
What happened to Bruno Saluk in the end?
After Steve helps him escape for the second time, Bruno intends to continue his jewelry store robberies. However, Annie now decides to quit this life, realizing it would only lead to Bruno’s arrests and more time apart. So, after a massive robbery, Bruno decides to call it quits and leave for Rio with Annie to start a new life.
Steve gets him a fake passport, though it’s poorly made, as nobody wants to get involved with Bruno since he is famous. Eventually, the passport leads Bruno to be stopped by the police at the Italian border and ultimately taken back to prison.
Inside the prison, Bruno pulls some strings to escape once more but is deceived by the police officers he’d hatched the plan with. When Bruno is discovered hiding, in a fit of desperation to reclaim his freedom, he jumps from the window and dies.
What happened to Steve?
While Bruno is in prison, Steve decides to free him once more. But while Steve is on his way to execute the plan, a police team shoots him from behind and kills him.
Why does Bruno continue stealing?
Even after multiple arrests, Bruno continues with his robberies because he enjoys the thrill of stealing. After many heists, he’d amassed enough money to stop, but he continues precisely because he finds fun in stealing, a sentiment highlighted by the police officer when he says that Bruno would soon become bored of his vacations. Ultimately, his thrill-seeking and choice of freedom lead him to his death.