Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1956)

A captured French Resistance fighter during WWII engineers a daunting escape from a Nazi prison in France.

Director:

Robert Bresson

Writers:

André Devigny (memoir), Robert Bresson (scenario)

Stars:

François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
François Leterrier	...	Le lieutenant Fontaine
Charles Le Clainche	...	François Jost
Maurice Beerblock	...	Blanchet
Roland Monod	...	Le pasteur Deleyris
Jacques Ertaud	...	Orsini
Jean Paul Delhumeau	...	Hebrard
Roger Treherne	...	Terry
Jean Philippe Delamarre	...	Le prisonnier 10
Jacques Oerlemans	...	Le gardien-chef
Klaus Detlef Grevenhorst	...	L'officier de L'Abwehr
Leonhard Schmidt	...	Le garde de l'escorte
Roger Planchon	...	Le garde cycliste

Storyline

Captured French Resistance fighter Lieutenant Fontaine awaits a certain death sentence for espionage in a stark Nazi prison in Lyon, France. Facing malnourishment and paralyzing fear, he must plot an extraordinary escape, complicated by the questions of whom to trust, and what lies beyond the small portion of the prison they are housed in.

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Plot Keywords:

escape from prison | attempted escape | prison | french resistance | prison cell | 

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Taglines:

Robert Bresson's Prize Winning Film

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This forms the first of a loose trilogy by Robert Bresson of prison pictures, with the other films being Pickpocket (1959) and Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962).

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Quotes

Le lieutenant Fontaine: [Narrating, as he and other prisoners go back to their cells after a short break outside] Time to empty our slop pails and run a little water over our faces, then back to our cells for the entire day. With nothing to do, no news and in terrible solitude, we were 100 unfortunates awaiting our fate. I had no illusions about my own. If I could only escape, run away...

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Zombieland/A Serious Man/Whip It (2009)

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Soundtracks

Great Mass in C Minor, No.16 (K.427) - Agnus Dei
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

The sound, the sound!

This movie, perhaps above all others, exemplifies just how important sound is in cinema. In fact, sounds (excluding dialogue) help carry the plot as much as the visuals and dialogue.

The crunching of the gravel under their feet really creates a sense of realism to the story. If you or I were escaping from prison, all the sounds Fontaine must pay attention to we must as well.

I doubt you'll find this film at your local video store, but I encourage everyone to check it out. It's like the Shawshank of the 1950s.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

11 November 1956 (France)

Also Known As:

A Man Escaped

Filming Locations:

Studios de Saint-Maurice, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 90 min (censored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1