A Man Escaped
| A Man Escaped | |
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Poster
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| Directed by | Robert Bresson |
| Produced by |
Alain Poiré Jean Thuillier |
| Written by | Robert Bresson |
| Starring |
François Leterrier Charles Le Clainche Maurice Beerblock Roland Monod |
| Music by | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
| Cinematography | Léonce-Henri Burel |
| Edited by | Raymond Lamy |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Gaumont Film Company |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French, German |
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 the occupying Germans during World War II. The protagonist of the film is called Fontaine. The second part of the title comes from the Bible (John 3:8) using the words of the Authorized King James Version (more recent translations use words like "wants" (which is the title in French) or "pleases" instead of "listeth"). Bresson himself was imprisoned by the Germans as a member of the French Resistance.
The soundtrack uses the Kyrie from Mozart's Great Mass in C minor, K. 427. The film was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival, and has been one of Bresson's most renowned works since its initial release.
After the establishing shot of Montluc prison, but before the opening credits, the camera rests on a plaque commemorating the 7,000 prisoners who died at the hands of the Nazis.
On the way to jail, Fontaine (François Leterrier), a member of the French Resistance, seizes an opportunity to escape his German captors when the car carrying him is forced to stop, but he is soon apprehended, beaten for his attempt, handcuffed and taken to the jail. At first he is incarcerated in a cell on the first floor of the prison, and he is able to talk to three French men who are exercising in the courtyard. The men obtain a safety pin for Fontaine, which gives him the ability to unlock his handcuffs. This turns out to be needless because he gives his parole to not escape and is moved to a cell on the top floor without handcuffs.
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Wikipedia