A Man Escaped

overview

Robert Bresson tells the story in A Man Escaped with the extremely close-up details of the prisoner’s relentless work on his long-term escape plans: Sight and sound both show us the painstaking work, such as the unwinding of mattress springs, in order to reinforce the rope he has made from torn sheets and blankets. Critical to the success of the escaping prisoner and his partner would be their suppression of any minuscule sounds of friction on a gravel-covered roof as they tiptoe in their socks after emerging from a skylight. This is all about the attention to detail that will be necessary to survive, and it’s done with Bresson’s visually austere and sonically frugal technique of storytelling.