A Man Escaped

1956 ‘Un condamné à mort s'est échappé’ Directed by Robert Bresson

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

François Leterrier Charles Le Clainche Maurice Beerblock Roland Monod Jacques Ertaud Jean Paul Delhumeau Roger Treherne Jean Philippe Delamarre Jacques Oerlemans Klaus Detlef Grevenhorst Leonhard Schmidt Roger Planchon

Alternative Titles

Um Condenado à Morte Escapou, 最后逃生, K smrti odsouzený uprchl, Un condenado a muerte se ha escapado, Le vent souffle où il veut, Απόδρασις Μελλοθανάτων, 사형수 탈출하다, 저항, Fugiu Um Condenado à Morte, Приговоренный к смерти бежал, или Дух веет, где хочет, En dödsdömd har rymt, A Man Escaped or The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth

drama thriller war

101 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★★★ 31

There are some days where at 22 years old I feel like a doofus for not having seen as much as I have. Could be the 30 comments I get a day that go something like "How have you not seen ____ ????" But there are other days, today being one of them, where I feel like the luckiest person in the world getting to experience a specific film for the first time.
A Man Escaped is my first Bresson. I can't explain why but recently I've been very obsessed with films that tell a story and idea in the simplest ways. Bresson is famously one of the masters at that and this is widely regarded as his masterpiece for…
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★ 3

75/100
Process, process, process. Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped focuses more on the different valleys and peaks of reaching an end goal rather than the consequences of such tribulations. It's a film comprised of footsteps, whispers, minor errors, minor victories, and the celebratory rush of triumph over hardship.
While most films "fade to black" to signify an end or a particular moment of importance, the key to A Man Escaped is its usage of the fade as an assured step into danger and the reluctant quest for hope. For Bresson, every movement and action is just the beginning.
Review by Adam Friedland 3

A French resistance fighter is imprisoned for calling hitler a Voldemort
Review by Scott Anderson ★★★★★ 5

A Man Escaped is my first ever Robert Bresson film, and what an incredible way to start. I had no idea how literal the title would be here, as this truly is a story about a man trying to escape from start to finish, a work that thrives because of its minimalism rather than in spite of it.
I have no idea what the typical Bresson style is and whether or not this film represents it, but I really appreciated the fact that throughout the entire work the focus stayed nearly primarily on the lead Fontaine besides a brief conversation or two amongst other inmates, but even then he was the basis of their words. Much of the film not…
Review by Edgar Cochran ★★★★★ 2

As a realistic, breathtaking, influential and heart-pounding recount of a true POW story, it is a shining triumph. Bresson's style of constantly moving from one relevant event to another and letting images speak while assigning a great importance to silences and facial expressions confirms the truth hidden in the phrase "in simplicity lies complexity". Your complaint is that the title sells away the ending, right? Bresson has never cared about the outcomes; instead, his humanity testaments focus on the struggle of life itself given a set of circumstances. That's why he's misunderstood: not all people have fought for their lives even once.
97/100
Review by vansirr ★★★★½

This is the Robert Bresson film that I saw for the first time because my friend watched this film and appreciated this film because it was a masterpiece, then I tried to watch this film whose duration is not long.
My first thought for this film is that it is very minimalist and realistic, everything relies only on hand movements or movement to escape. During the film, there is only the so-called "PROCESS" performed by Fountain that will bear fruit, namely getting out of prison.
Unlike most films today, which use a convoluted plot which then makes the audience feel confused, here Bresson work uses the minimalist type.
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Bahasa Indonesia :
Ini adalah film Robert Bresson yang pertama kali…
Review by PopcornIdeology ★★★★

Simple efficient story telling, masterfully paced, and ahead of it’s time. Not sure if I’d call the titular ending anticlimactic, but it did leave me wanting a little more, even if it made perfect sense for the film. Nonetheless it’s a great watch with some really striking visual techniques.
8.6 / 10
Review by Will Menaker ★★★★★

The true story of a French resistance fighter who broke out of the notorious Montluc prison in Klaus Barbie's Lyon, where 7,000 men where executed during the German occupation. Bresson does this thing where he never shows any of the prison guards' faces or gives them names or any discernible personality or character. The film remains in tight focus on the main character's face and especially his hands. His captors are abstracted, their cruelty and oppression is never dramatized or given a face or name, we just hear the clink of their keys, the shuffle of their feet, a barked order to stop talking, and the staccato of machine gun fire as they execute another prisoner. The grinding routine and…
Review by ChandraKanth❄ ★★★★

Intriguing, intense, simple and captivating.
A thought by chance is turned into a flawless escape plan.
I was on the edge for last 20 minutes.
Review by Jake Cole ★★★★★

Contained within the tiny cell and the limiting roaming space of its protagonist, A MAN ESCAPED practically begs the usual Bresson label of "ascetic," but how can anything be thought of as stripped-down with sound design this considered, this meticulous? Bresson doesn't expressionistically heighten the sounds, but he doesn't need to: even the dull tap of an iron spoon knocking a loose piece of door back into place or the faint ripple of rifle shots from the firing squad position at the other end of the prison become unbearably tense, pressing down on the prisoner to remind him of how quickly he could be caught and the fate that awaits him regardless. The best answer to those who feel that being spoiled on a film's ending renders it not as exciting.
Review by alex todd 🧟‍♂️ ★★★★½ 46

Scavenger Hunt #52
A Man Escaped is one of the most tensest films I’ve seen even though the title tells you what happens. This is mainly down to the phenomenal lead performance that gets you behind the character from the start. The slow pace also builds up the tension perfectly until the edge of the seat climax.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this film but now I can’t wait to see more from Robert Bresson. I highly recommend this film to anyone who hasn’t seen it, I can’t imagine anyone not liking it.
Review by Melissa Tamminga ★★★★★ 2

"With both hands, I restrained the beating of my heart."

Recent reviews

Review by Deany Hendrick Cheng ★★★★½

Only when faced with certain death are we moved to seize the possibility of life. Great film.
Review by Ratso Midnightcowboy ★★★★★

29.11.2020 rewatched
Review by Sdiary ★★★★½

A bit of a sleeping viewing which spoiled it a bit and maybe lost the impact of the first time but still obviously a fine film and makes me want to go over the other Bresson I have and more besides.
Review by Juan Duarte

Chorando de felicidade porque eles conseguiram fugir e que esse filme não é um filme idiota onde dá tudo errado e todo o mundo morre no final.
Review by vansirr ★★★★½

This is the Robert Bresson film that I saw for the first time because my friend watched this film and appreciated this film because it was a masterpiece, then I tried to watch this film whose duration is not long.
My first thought for this film is that it is very minimalist and realistic, everything relies only on hand movements or movement to escape. During the film, there is only the so-called "PROCESS" performed by Fountain that will bear fruit, namely getting out of prison.
Unlike most films today, which use a convoluted plot which then makes the audience feel confused, here Bresson work uses the minimalist type.
______________________________________________________
Bahasa Indonesia :
Ini adalah film Robert Bresson yang pertama kali…
Review by Garet McKenna ★★★½

One of the more under-appreciated aspects of cinema is the moment a viewer becomes fully in-tune, completely sucked in. A wonderful state of bliss where a half hour seems to go by in no more than sixty seconds.
Review by Lee Hilton ★★★★★

It's good.
Review by peytondani ★★★½

great storytelling but FUCK this was SLOW
Review by wesHIL ★★★★

8/10
Review by Nicole Dilley ★★★★½

i will be reaching out to bresson’s estate to demand compensation for the xanax i need after watching this
Review by Graham Bartal ★★★★

The first bresson film I’ve seen
So straight forward and simple. I admire how minimalistic it is but at this moment it’s not my preferred style
Review by emily northwood ★★★★★

that man sure did escaped