A Man Escaped

“Robert Bresson's Prize Winning Film”

7.9

1956

1h 41m

DramaThriller

Director: Robert Bresson

Overview

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

Trailer

A Man Escaped - Original Trailer Official

Cast

Fontaine

François Leterrier

Fontaine

Jost

Charles Le Clainche

Jost

Blanchet

Maurice Beerblock

Blanchet

Priest of Leiris

Roland Monod

Priest of Leiris

Orsini

Jacques Ertaud

Orsini

Hebrard

Jean Paul Delhumeau

Hebrard

Terry

Roger Treherne

Terry

Le Prisonnier 110

Jean Philippe Delamarre

Le Prisonnier 110

Chief Warden

Jacques Oerlemans

Chief Warden

L'Officier de L'Abwehr

Klaus Detlef Grevenhorst

L'Officier de L'Abwehr

Escort Guard

Leonhard Schmidt

Escort Guard

Guard on a Bike

Roger Planchon

Guard on a Bike

Reviews

tmdb47633491

You can see much of where Tarkovsky got his patience from. The ending is given away by the title but somehow the last half hour / escape sequence is still, to quote another reviewer, unbearably suspenseful. I much prefer this Ian Curtis performance to anything he did for Joy Division.

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CinemaSerf

Probably my favourite film from Robert Bresson, this tells the story of "Fontaine" (François Leterrier). He has been arrested by the Nazis on charges of spying and bombing, and is imprisoned without trial. His prognosis is not very good, but he is determined not to succumb to the fear and intimidation of his oppressors. One night in his cell, he observes that the door that holds him is made of oak and other, softer wood - can he find a way to escape before he faces the inevitable firing squad? It's the meticulous pace of this that is really effective. Leterrier is super as we, the audience, feel like we are sharing his daily risks. Day to day, never knowing whether he will survive. Surrounded by fellow inmates who may (or may not) be trustworthy. When he is unexpectedly saddled with a room-mate his choices and options become limited and imperative - and right to the very end, we are never quite certain as to what the denouement may bring. Mozart could never have imagined that his "Kyrie" and his "Agnus Dei" pieces could ever have been used to such chilling effects and the whole film just reeks of peril and authenticity right from the start. If you get a chance to see it on a big screen, then I'd heartily recommend you take it - it's only 100 minutes, but they are intense and compelling.

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