Robert Bresson's works are productions which don't intend to satisfy expectations of the audience, they are primarily art-house projects. Bresson's films thus are non-commercial, he only uses non-professional actors, rarely integrates music, besides his shots are realistic, lack action and instead focus on the essential, there are no embellishments to sell a scene. What you see on the screen is understated, minimalistic, carefully planned efficiency - less is more.
All these things apply to "A Man Escaped", based on a true story, and the title already tells you the whole plot. It's as basic as that, and miraculously this does the trick: In between the daily prison routines we get to know how our protagonist works on a plan to make the impossible happen, piece by piece he progresses, and the longer his efforts last the more we identify with the endeavor and root for him. Bresson's direction is restrained, unobtrusive, the pace is slow, dictated by prison life regularity, yet the film turns out to be extremely suspenseful in its simplicity, despite or maybe because it doesn't shun to return to the same images and camera perspectives again and again. Sound plays a key role and of course the recitative voice-over, which holds it all together. I guess it's safe to say that a man indeed escaped movie making conventions with this one and succeeded - chapeau bas à Robert Bresson.
Additional note: The other film on par with Bresson's mastery as far as prison escape films are concerned is of course Jacques Becker's seminal "Le Trou" (1960). Realism dominates that one as well, though "Le Trou" has more psychological drama thanks to the group dynamics involved. Despite the somewhat different angle "Le Trou" is as riveting, intense and suspenseful throughout as Bresson's take on the subject. The players are mainly non-actors in this one as well, the emotions are palpable, all sounds in the film are diegetic (always occurring on screen) etc., you see the parallels. To sum it up: Edge-of-the-seat cinema without distracting gimmicks. Two Frenchmen who knew how to do it!
All these things apply to "A Man Escaped", based on a true story, and the title already tells you the whole plot. It's as basic as that, and miraculously this does the trick: In between the daily prison routines we get to know how our protagonist works on a plan to make the impossible happen, piece by piece he progresses, and the longer his efforts last the more we identify with the endeavor and root for him. Bresson's direction is restrained, unobtrusive, the pace is slow, dictated by prison life regularity, yet the film turns out to be extremely suspenseful in its simplicity, despite or maybe because it doesn't shun to return to the same images and camera perspectives again and again. Sound plays a key role and of course the recitative voice-over, which holds it all together. I guess it's safe to say that a man indeed escaped movie making conventions with this one and succeeded - chapeau bas à Robert Bresson.
Additional note: The other film on par with Bresson's mastery as far as prison escape films are concerned is of course Jacques Becker's seminal "Le Trou" (1960). Realism dominates that one as well, though "Le Trou" has more psychological drama thanks to the group dynamics involved. Despite the somewhat different angle "Le Trou" is as riveting, intense and suspenseful throughout as Bresson's take on the subject. The players are mainly non-actors in this one as well, the emotions are palpable, all sounds in the film are diegetic (always occurring on screen) etc., you see the parallels. To sum it up: Edge-of-the-seat cinema without distracting gimmicks. Two Frenchmen who knew how to do it!