'Masterpiece' war film that's 'amazing' with a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes

Even though this film came out a while ago, it continues to have an impact and resonate to this day. Despite coming out on November 11, 1956, A Man Escaped (Un condamné à mort s'est échappé) has become a timeless war film and features among Rotten Tomatoes' list of the best war films of all time and it's also based on a true story. Directed by Robert Bresson, the film remains one of his most influential works and has earned a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. A Man Escaped shows a Gestapo prisoner who's escaped from prison hours before he was meant to be executed.

Set in 1943 during the Nazi occupation of France, A Man Escaped is based on the real life of André Devigny, a member of the French Resistance who made a daring escape from Montluc Prison in Lyon during the Nazi occupation of France in the Second World War. Bresson's adaptation captures this tense and meticulous breakout with a sense of realism and restraint that makes every moment feel authentic, tense, and deeply human.

The film follows Lieutenant Fontaine, a Gestapo prisoner awaiting execution and in true Bresson style, less is more in the elaboration of the masterpiece. The form follows the function in this film and it mirrors the experience that is being shown on the screen.

A Man Escaped relies on precision, silence, and sound rather than spectacle. Every creak of wood, clink of metal, and whispered word adds to the mounting tension.

The director's sparse approach gives viewers a sensory experience of confinement and hope, showing how little can say so much. Sounds are almost like eyes when the prisoner is unable to see beyond his own cell.

"This story is true. I present it as it is, without embellishment," Robert Bresson explains in the opening credits.

He also said about cinema: "Cinema is not a spectacle, it is a form of writing. Cinematography is writing in motion with images and sounds. If we want to find an analogy, we should look to music rather than painting, because painting would lead us to postcards."

One viewer wrote about the film on Rotten Tomatoes: "A towering achievement in world cinema, a film that transcends its wartime setting to speak to the timeless struggles and triumphs of the human spirit.

"With its mesmerising visuals, haunting score, and profound thematic depth, it is a work of art that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll. Bresson's masterpiece is not just a film to be watched, but a profound meditation on the nature of existence and the eternal quest for freedom and meaning."

Someone else said: "A flawless, precision-tooled masterpiece, where every frame works perfectly. Unsentimental but profound and moving, it is suspenseful as any classsic Hitchcock, gripping from start to finish. I can see why it is sometimes cited as one of the greatest films of all time."

Another viewer called Jonathan said in a review on IMDb that the film is "amazing" and "one of the best movies ever made."