A Man Escaped (1956)

The following film notes were prepared for the New York State Writers Institute by Kevin Jack Hagopian, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at Pennsylvania State University

Based on the true account of a French Catholic resistance fighter’s arduous efforts to escape from a Nazi internment camp, Robert Bresson’s masterpiece A Man Escaped (literally, A Man Condemned to Death Has Escaped) gives away less in its title than it seems to.

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

“When one is in prison, the most important thing is the door.” – Robert Bresson (1) Un condamné à mort s’est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (A Man Escaped, 1956) is one of Bresson’s most sublime and understated films, in a career that consists of a series of meditational masterpieces that minutely…

Drama / Thriller (1956) 99 minutes ~ Black

French trailer for Robert Bresson's Un condamné à mort s'est échappé.

Overview of A Man Escaped, 1956, directed by Robert Bresson, with Francois Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, at Turner Classic Movies

French director Robert Bresson drew from his own experiences as a POW to fashion this story of a resistance leader who is imprisoned by the Nazis. The leader, with the help of his cellmate, successfully engineers an escape. The plot was inspired by the true story of Andre Devigny.

Directed by Robert Bresson. With François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, Roland Monod. A captured French Resistance fighter during WWII engineers a daunting escape from a Nazi prison in France.

A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth (French: Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut) is a 1956 French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a member of the French Resistance held in Montluc prison by

Criterion

It rises above its earthly architecture, in each moment conveying what’s within—and what’s outside.

Robert Bresson's films are often about people confronting certain despair. His subject is how they try to prevail in the face of unbearable circumstances. His plots are not about whether they succeed, but how they endure. He tells these stories in an unadorned style, without movie stars, special effects, contrived thrills and elevated tension. His films, seemingly devoid of audience-pleasing elements, hold many people in a hypnotic grip. There are no "entertainment values" to distract us, only the actual events of the stories themselves. They demonstrate how many films contain only diversions for the eyes and mind, and use only the superficial qualities of their characters.