chaos-rampant I hit an impasse with Bresson's previous film, Diary; he used a peculiar conflation of a search for transparent truth in the mysteries of life with anguish and dejection as romanticized spiritual journey, romanticized in the Christian sense where it's not spiritual if it doesn't have anguish. It seemed crude and without enlightenment. The impasse was; was the pious young priest for Bresson another person among others in the village led astray in the effort to rationalize his emotions, or was he above them, an ideal to aspire to? This was more interesting to me than the film itself.So I came to this hoping for the fresh light of retrospect. And what a stark contrast this is! Another idealistic young man who suffers torments, physical and inner, another life of anguish in four walls. But here Bresson draws the breath in, quiets the anguish, accepts the fact of it, and works to concentrate the senses and create physical presence. We've come far in our ability to do this, but it still resonates.The film is practically a long suspense piece, with a few questions about ethics suspended briefly. The man here, by contrast to the priest, simply does the work he sets out before him. He doesn't perceive himself a martyr of his cause, or a quiet sufferer of wrongs, he simply abides and prepares for the long night. His idealism waits to be found out until near the end when the charges against him are laid out; sabotage.It's fine work, easy to parse. It doesn't answer the impasse mentioned above so for that I'll have to go to his next one.

Paul Hesp Film is moving images and therefore war films tend to concentrate on the drama, the spectacular side of war: combat. The degree of 'realism' with which films show battles is generally used as a measure of their quality. But unpleasant things like the stench of the battlefield invariably get left out and the spectator is not required to cower in a slit trench. Many war films – even documentaries - are in fact rather like Verdi operas. So 'realism' needs those inverted commas. There are of course excellent Verdi operas, but you might as well go to the other extreme and completely refrain from depicting the horrors of combat in films dealing with war.Although violence plays a major role in a number of his films, Robert Bresson rarely shows it ('…because you know it is false, because it is forced'). He detested what he called 'photographed theatre', the dramatic conventions of film and relied on amateurs speaking in flat voices and showing little or no emotion in their faces and gestures. Combined with natural sound (keys turning in locks, etc.) and carefully observed material details the effect is to create a heightened sense of reality. I feel fully alert when I watch a Bresson film, even though I frankly find some of his work exasperating.In the case of 'Un condamné à mort s'est échappé' (A man escaped) Bresson's 'minimalist' method results in the best war film I've ever seen. The title sins against narrative orthodoxy by giving the end away. The simple story, which closely follows a real event, may therefore as well be told: during World War II a French resistance fighter named Fontaine is caught, imprisoned and condemned to death. With his inner strength as his main resource and small gestures of solidarity from fellow prisoners he manages to escape.The film is mainly about the how of the escape: Fontaine turning over the problems in his mind, the preparation of his 'equipment', the nightly stalk out of the prison maze. Much of the action is set in the claustrophobic space of Fontaine's cell. The camera work there is so 'dry' and focused on objects and gestures that I sometimes felt I was watching an instruction film. Well, anyone who has ever been completely absorbed in an urgent activity knows that at that moment there is just the task at hand, no drama. The brief snatches of Mozart accompanying life-affirming contacts with fellow prisoners provide an almost startling contrast.Bresson is not noted for slapstick, but there are humorous moments in his films. Here the humour comes right at the end: Fontaine and his young cell mate Jost (whom he initially distrusts but who in the end is indispensable for his escape) have left their shoes at one of the hurdles, so they disappear into the darkness with the ginger steps of people hurrying barefoot over gravel. 'If my mother could see me now', Jost blurts out. And Mozart is again heard in all his glory.Why is this, for me, the best war film? The hero is completely cornered, no escape seems possible. But the worst can be a starting point for salvation. Starting with the unlocking of his handcuffs, Fontaine (who looks more like a priest than a fire-eater – not accidentally, I think) one by one overcomes all obstacles because he opens his mind: 'the wind blows where it will' is the film's subtitle – a quotation from the Bible; Hebrew uses the same word for wind and spirit. And Bresson has me on red alert without any use of pyrotechnics.

Sergeant_Tibbs After watching Mouchette recently, Robert Bresson's minimalist style was starting to grow on me. Although I found it sterile in something like Pickpocket, I've now found where his emotion comes from. A Man Escaped provides a thrilling setup right from the start. Whereas Pickpocket's best scenes were the ones featuring its title, A Man Escaped is constantly about the protagonist's slow progression to a breakout and it's a masterclass in designing a resourceful character. It could hold onto cheap tension, but it trusts subtle touches instead and results in a very mature approach. It's all about how humanity at its core has a need for escape as an act of self-preservation and how far they will go to get it to the point of considering killing someone else. This film is definitely Bresson's craft at his best but it's a little too dry to call it a favourite and not as emotional as Mouchette, if more psychologically interesting. Even so, Bresson sure does find a way to make his films feel much longer than they are with his crossfading editing technique. Is this the best his style can get or is there more awaiting me? We'll have to see.8/10

Scott44 Robert Bresson's "A Man Escaped" is perfect. He's one of my most favorite filmmakers. His style is very austere; he eschews flamboyant camera work in favor of the rudimentary. I really enjoy Bresson's catalog.The film begins with the protagonist, Fontaine (Francois Leterrier), in the back seat of a police car and on the verge of attempting to escape by opening the door. Just as in the later prison break, Fontaine hesitates to the point where you wonder if he will do it. He does and is immediately arrested. Instead of following Fontaine on the street, Bresson remains with the police officer who is expressionless throughout Fontaine's capture. Reducing everything potentially of visual interest is Bresson's unique style, and it works.Fontaine has been beaten when he arrives at the prison, and he will wear his bloody shirt for the rest of the film. The initial scenes of Fontaine in his cell are hellish. Leterrier's narration informs us that Fontaine expects to be executed. Bresson's austere style makes this seem plausible.Fortunately for him, the French Resistance knows where he is and a stranger who paces the courtyard (with two other men) befriends Fontaine. The narration reminds us that Fontaine has to trust this stranger with secrets that are potentially fatal to others if intercepted by the Gestapo.The Germans in "Man Escaped" are ruthless. There is never the possibility that they will behave as stupidly as the Germans do in "The Great Escape" or "Hogan's Heroes." Bresson makes them real. Here the Germans are shooting spies and three of Fontaine's prison allies will face a firing squad.When Fontaine is moved to another cell he discovers a flaw in the cell's door. He begins slowly carving out the panels, trying not to make too much noise. Early on his actions are opposed by the rest of his cell block. As Fontaine gets closer to making his prison break, the other block members begin telling him he's moving too slow! Fontaine is taken to the Hotel Terminus where his death sentence is read by an unseen official. Fontaine is terrified that he will be either killed on the spot or taken to another cell. He isn't.As Fontaine gets closer to the break out the minimalist dialogue between him and the other cell block members is really strong. A final complication emerges when another man, Jost (Charles Le Clainche), joins Fontaine's cell. Fontaine fears that he is a spy. He has to make his break and can't figure out where Jost stands.The prison break is wildly suspenseful and fairly realistic. Fontaine and Jost have to wait long stretches before taking their next steps. There is a lot of suspense, and Bresson's camera is making it seem real.Bresson really understands Devigny's memoir and renders it perfectly. This is the best prison break movie ever made by a large margin.