A Man Escaped

A Man Escaped or The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth French Un condamn mort sest chapp ou Le vent souffle o il veut is a 1956 French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on the memoirs of Andr Devigny, a member of the French Resistance held in Montluc prison by the occupying Germans during World War II. The protagonist of the film is called Fontaine. The second part of the title comes from the Bible, John 38, using the words of the Authorized King James Version more recent translations use words like wants which is the title in French or pleases instead of listeth. Bresson himself was imprisoned by the Germans as a member of the French Resistance.

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 Franois 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 pointless because he gives his parole not to escape and is moved to a cell on the top floor without handcuffs. ........

Source: Wikipedia