So this is another Robert Bresson film; you’ll recall that Pickpocket was the first from him, and that I didn’t care for it. Given the title, I assumed this was going to be another tale of criminality, but while the title does refer to a dude escaping from jail, turns out it’s a WW2-era German jail, and the dude in question is a Resistance fighter. So, yay, not about a criminal after all.

So, the movie is very deliberate and from the prisoner’s perspective. It is almost entirely about his daily routine — the cell, a short walk outside to dump out his slop bucket, a chance to clean up (and exchange furtive words with fellow prisoners) at a wash basin, then back to the cell. We get to know the cell and its geography quite well.

And, as the movie title kinda spoilers, he makes plans to escape, and that’s what the movie is really about. It’s partly about the clever ingenuity of it, of finding the resources to make tools, and finding the information to make a plan. But it’s also focused on the psychological aspects of it, trying to figure out who to trust, the paranoia of knowing you could be caught at any time, the fear of actually making the attempt after so much planning.

It’s a slow burn, but it’s tense and intense. And when the attempt actually comes, it’s riveting. There are no real special effects to speak of, no adrenaline-pumping action sequences, just the slow, careful movement (and tense waiting, and willing the self to action in the face of fear) of this quiet prison break.

This is a good one, taut and compelling. In a way, it reminds me of a stripped-down, minimalist, low-action Die Hard. Not because it’s much like that movie, but because of the way it uses the geography of an enclosed space and the question of who can be trusted, and a hero who is advancing his plans while quietly avoiding the notice of his “captors.” I don’t know, maybe it’s a dumb comparison, because they really aren’t that much alike, but I feel like there’s something there.

Anyway, good stuff, and I feel like this is one that a wider group of youse might actually enjoy (although maybe it’s slower than I’m thinking, I’m not really well-calibrated for that anymore).