A Man Escaped Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: A Man Escaped
Year: 1956
Director: Robert Bresson
Country: France
Language: French 

Though French Director Robert Bresson's films never achieved great popularity in his home country, they were always big hits among educated critics and art-house enthusiasts. Known for his incredibly bleak films in which the main character would go through a great emotional crisis,  like Au Hasard Balthazar, Mouchette and Pickpocket, he would usually cast non-actors to give each picture a realistic feel.Among his works, A Man Escaped would prove to be one of his greatest. 

The plot revolves around Andre Devigny (Francois Leterrier), a french resistance leader who is captured by the nazis and spends the majority of his prison sentence desperately trying to figure out an elaborate escape. Unfortunately on the same day he is condemned to death he is also given a new cellmate. Should he kill him or trust a stranger who may be a gestapo in disguise? 

Considering Bresson himself was a German POW for a year during WWII, I think it's close to say that he had a deep emotional connection with the character of the film. Demanding complete authenticity, he used the real-life Devigny as superisor and even shot in the same prison where Devigny was once held. His direction is meticulous, every detail is concise and exceptionally crafted. Bresson does a wonderful job at building tension slowly increasing  hope; the impossible at the beginning of the film, seems very possible near the end. 

After seeing the film, French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard said that Bresson was "to French cinema what Mozart is to German music and Dostoevsky is to Russian literature". Indeed A Man Escaped is quite spectacular, it is a film that is straight forward in narrative but requires a lot of patience. He did not shy from repetition, infact repetition is what makes his character so like-able. He does not foolishly try to escape whenever the moment is opportune, but rather is calculating and plans his actions months ahead of time.

In conclusion, A Man Escaped has made a substantial impact in Cinematic History and is still entertaining and thought provoking to this day. It is Bresson's least melancholy picture and serves to show that any goal is possible, no matter how desperate your situation is. Praise it! 5/5