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A Man Escaped
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé
1956 101 min France 0+
★8.3
Drama, Thriller
Director: Robert Bresson
Trailers
Description
A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.
Starring
François Leterrier
Actor
Charles Le Clainche
Actor
Maurice Beerblock
Actor
Awards
Cannes Film Festival 1957
— Best Director
Cannes Film Festival 1957
— Palme d'Or
BAFTA 1958
— Best Picture
Key opinion
Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped is widely hailed as a masterful, minimalist meditation on human resolve, faith, and the nature of freedom. While most viewers admire its meticulous technical precision and spiritual depth, a minority finds the hyper-focused, procedural narrative cold or implausible.
| Score | The film’s precise sound design—incorporating the rhythmic scraping of wood, guard footsteps, and urban noise—constructs a palpable, claustrophobic atmosphere of tension. | |
| Acting | Bresson’s reliance on non-professional actors effectively strips away melodrama, resulting in performances that emphasize discipline and moral gravity. | |
| Screenplay | The script prioritizes the mechanics of preparation and internal will over traditional suspense, demanding that the viewer engage with the protagonist's process rather than the outcome. | |
| Theme | The film is deeply divided between those who view its technical focus as an authentic, meditative study of willpower and those who find the meticulous prison details and guard behavior unrealistic or absurd. |