A captured French Resistance fighter during WWII engineers a daunting escape from a Nazi prison in France.
Director: Robert Bresson
Writers: André Devigny (memoir), Robert Bresson (scenario).
Stars: François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock.
Plot
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.
Once in the new cell, Fontaine begins inspecting the door and discovers that the boards are joined together with low-quality wood. Using an iron spoon he deliberately neglects to return after a meal, he begins to chip away at the wood. After weeks of work, he is able to remove three boards from the door, roam the hallway, get back in his cell and restore the appearance of the door.
Fontaine is not the only prisoner trying to escape. Orsini (Jacques Ertaud) makes an attempt, but fails to get very far because his rope breaks at the second wall. Orsini is tossed back in his cell, beaten up by the guards, and executed a few days later. Fontaine is not deterred from his plan. He makes hooks from the light fitting in his cell, fashions himself ropes from clothing and bedding and fastens the hooks to the rope with wires taken from his bed. The other prisoners grow somewhat skeptical of his escape plans, saying he is taking too long.
Clasificación [ CM DVD 00312 ] Disponible en DVD, 4 Piso BJB)