A Man Escaped

Un condamné à mort s'est échappé

Director: Robert Bresson
Country: France

1956 | 101 min. | French
Subtitles: German, English
FSK 12

Cast_ François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock Screenplay_ Robert Bresson, André Devigny Camera_ Léonce-Henri Burel Producer_ Jean Thuillier, Alain Poiré Rights_ Gaumont

A prisoner of the fascist regime refuses to give up! In the moment of greatest peril, the future can become a place of longing.

In 1943, a French Resistance fighter is arrested, imprisoned, and immediately sentenced to death. He refuses to surrender to his fate and meticulously prepares his escape. The promise of freedom, against all odds and obstacles, determines his every action. Until, finally, he takes a leap of faith.

Through extreme narrative concentration, focusing on minute details, objects, and gestures, Robert Bresson turned this true story into one of the most gripping prison-break films ever made. Despite avoiding visible emotion, he somehow captures human feeling as few others have managed.

Director

Robert Bresson (1901–1999) was one of the most important French filmmakers of all time. He developed a highly distinctive minimalist style characterized by close-ups rather than grand tableaux, a tension between sound and image, and the use of non-professional actors. Social and existential questions lie at the heart of his work.

Screenings