A MAN ESCAPED (Un Condamné à mort s'est échappé)

The key film of Bresson's influential career, A MAN ESCAPED has been acclaimed as one of the greatest works of cinema. Based on the true story of Resistance fighter André Devigny, who was imprisoned and sentenced to death by the Nazis during the Second World War, the film reconstructs his actual cell at Montluc, the fortress in Lyons which would later house the war criminal Klaus Barbie, and follows his meticulous plans for escape. Bresson totally involves the viewer in this compelling and thrilling tale of courage and faith, which is all the more authentic for its use of non-professional actors and the director's sparse style. The film's stunning denouement, to the accompaniment of Mozart's sublime Mass in C Minor, is spiritually moving and succeeds in taking the story onto a different plane.

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