TRIBUTES AND RETROSPECTIVES
Escapes |
© 1956 Gaumont
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé
Robert Bresson
1956 - France - 1h41
Screenings :
monday 22 - 4:30 pm - Pathé - 1 - presented by Christophe Le Gac - film critic and teacher
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.
« For me, Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (A Man Escaped) is the most decisive French film of the past decade. The film which, in its principle, is extremely perilous, has become a new and moving work thanks to the stubborn genius of Robert Bresson, who has proved capable of reaching an unseen truth through a new realism. The suspense is created nobly, naturally, not by dilating the duration, but rather by evaporating it. Thanks to the brevity of the shots and the speed of the scenes, you never get the feeling of a choice at the crucial moment. We really live with Fontaine in his prison, not 90 minutes, but two months, and – who would have thought it? – it's fascinating!” (François Truffaut; Arts, 14 November 1956)
“Un condamné à mort s'est échappé can be considered a resistance film for two reasons. Its hero translates into actions an arrogant idea – a prison is made for escaping from – whereas Robert Bresson places his film under the sign of refusal: refusal of conventional cinema, refusal to apply rules other than his own. In both cases, insubordination leads to freedom. ‘The wind blows where it will', Jesus says to Nicodemus (John, 3:8) is the film's subtitle.” (Olivier Père; Le Trou, influences, divergences et confluences, text accompanying the re-release of the film on Blu-ray by Studio Canal)
“Un condamné à mort s'est échappé can be considered a resistance film for two reasons. Its hero translates into actions an arrogant idea – a prison is made for escaping from – whereas Robert Bresson places his film under the sign of refusal: refusal of conventional cinema, refusal to apply rules other than his own. In both cases, insubordination leads to freedom. ‘The wind blows where it will', Jesus says to Nicodemus (John, 3:8) is the film's subtitle.” (Olivier Père; Le Trou, influences, divergences et confluences, text accompanying the re-release of the film on Blu-ray by Studio Canal)
CAST AND CREW
Cast : François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, Roland Monod, Jacques Ertaud, Roger Planchon
Screenplay : Robert Bresson
Cinematography : Léonce-Henri Burel
Editing : Raymond Lamy
Production : Gaumont, Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)
French distributor : Gaumont