Le Trou (The Hole) (thriller)
(1960) (2 hrs 12 mins)
This is a remarkable film. Directed by Jaques
Becker, it tells the story of four prisoners sharing a cell who are planning to
dig a tunnel to escape. A fifth prisoner is moved into their cell and they have
no alternative but bring him into their plan. But can they trust him?
What makes
this film remarkable is the way Becker manages to build so much tension simply
by showing the painstaking steps the prisoners have to take to dig their tunnel
and cover their tracks.
The film is
based on a book of the same name by Jose Giovanni, which told the true story
of the attempt to escape from the La Sante Prison in Paris in 1947. The film
uses non-actors for the main roles, including one man who was actually involved
in the attempted breakout. This may
account for the low key realism of the story. It’s shot almost like a
documentary.
We are drawn
into the story very early on as, along with the four prisoners, we realise they
have no choice but to tell the new prisoner about their plans. At night some of
the prisoners slip out through the hole they have dug in the cell floor to look
for a way to tunnel out of the building and into a sewerage tunnel.
Even
watching the prisoners’ mundane tasks like eating, getting up, squabbling
somehow becomes interesting before Becker’s ever-present camera. The prisoners’
ingenuity is remarkable: creating their
own makeshift tools from whatever they can find inside their cell; fashioning a
key that will unlock the doors in the corridors that run below the prison; and
even making their own timer so that they can keep track of how long they can
spend digging before they have to return to the cell.
They manage
to find a way through the sewerage tunnel to the streets of Paris but on the
day before they plan to escape, they are thrown into turmoil when the governor
tells the new prisoner that the charges against him are to be dropped. The new
prisoner assures them that he will still take part in the escape plan but can
they trust him? Dare they trust him?
Rating: 9/10
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