THE FREE MARKET tells the story of Rotterdam’s open-air market, the largest in Europe, which is under threat. Right next to it, Europe’s largest covered market is being constructed, the now world-famous Markthal. Surrounded by a rapidly transforming décor and increasingly tense relationships, we experience these changes on the Rotterdam market through the eyes of the merchants whose families have worked there for generations as some see themselves forced to leave. The rapid changes of the Rotterdam market symbolize the inevitable need to adapt in order to survive. But does change and modernization necessarily lead us to a better future?