A Man Escaped (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

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Quotes

Le lieutenant Fontaine: I think my courage abandoned me for a moment and I cried.

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Connections

Referenced in Adventures in Moviegoing: Josh and Bennie Safdie (2020)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Was there ever a sparer, more concentrated film?

Was there ever a sparer, more concentrated film? The painstaking focus on the ritual-like preparation for the escape is almost wrenching in its calm severity; yet always graceful, always fluid. The details of the final escape make for one of the most memorable sequences in cinema - interspersed with episodes of doubt in which he falters for hours or more before taking the next step, just as he delays the escape itself for many days even though he knows his execution is imminent. It's almost like a sombre dance with death, or at least a morally exacting examination of one's limits and a fear of the transcendent (which in this case is represented merely by freedom itself). There are no moments of light relief or variation here, just an attention to process and causality - the concentration on the plan almost becomes a means of redemption, until carrying out the plan becomes almost superfluous if not destructive. Of all Bresson's films, this is the one that best engages on a thematic level while simultaneously working as narrative - his distilled gravity constitutes a fantastically effective suspense mechanism; a model of tight storytelling.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

26 August 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth

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