I'm sorry about having to cancel last night's screening. Please try to watch the film between now and Sunday and comment on one or more of the following questions (provided in separate posts). Write at least two full paragraphs, please. Here's the first question to consider:
What do you think this film's main message is? Do you believe it is religious (Christian)? Political? Artistic? Moral? Please give some justification for your response.
I believe that the main message of the film is a moral one. Through out the film you are aware of the underlying Christian thought, but Fontaine himself does not seem to ponder too deeply on his Christian thoughts. The side of Fontaine that the audience views is a man who will not give in. This drive that he has is what defines the film. The scenes that were most striking to me were the scene where Fontaine turns from the wall with dried blood on his face, and the scene where he comes back from strangling the guard and Jost sees the dead man. These scenes make you contemplate the morality of not only the Germans who killed so many at the camp but also Fontaine who kills the German guard. The viewer understands his thinking , but the you are left thinking "was that necessary?"
ReplyDeleteEmily Blauvelt
I believe that the main message of the film is one of morality as well. Through out the film there is a constant struggle with the negative nature of the inmates. That it seems to spread in the prison like a virus. An example of this is when Fontaine tells everyone that he is going to escape all of the inmates wanted to help him and/or did help him. But when the time was right none of the inmates wanted to help him and told him that he would be killed if he did. This started to affect Fontiane to the point where he lost hope in the plan him self. Until Jost came along and then it gave Fontiane hope that his plan would work. Singerman states in page 214 that, " Parallel to the theme of escape Bresson likewise develops the themes of stubborn struggle and deliance of the enemy. If the main title reflects the personal exploit of the protagonist, and accordingly the theme of Human Will, the second title."
ReplyDeleteBen Haney
Apres avoir regarde ce film, je pense que ce film a un message politique; et egallement il y a un message religieux avec la conversation de Fontaine avec le pasteur. Puisque la France etait sous domination Allemande, alors on peut dire que ce film a un message politique avec l'evasion de Fontaine. On a vu comment Fontaine essayait de faire sauter un pont, mais Fontaine ne voulait pas faire sauter le pont pour donner de problemes a la France, mais plustot pour ataque les Allemands. On n'a pas vu aucun message sur le point vue de la morale, mais plutot, on a vu un message immoral, par exemple, "Fontaine apprend la routine de la prison:le repas servi dans une gamelle, la descente quotidienne dans la cour pour vider les seaux hygieniques, suivie d'une seance de toilette dans les lavabos." Puisque la France etait occupe par l'Allemagne, et la prison etait sous la domination Allemande, alors on peut dire que ce film a un message politique.
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ReplyDelete*Note: the name "kosherheartedgentile" is me, Andrea. I am still trying to figure things out here, which explains why there are two deleted comments. Anyway, here is my post:
ReplyDeleteAccording to Singerman, one of the main themes in the film is "the persistent fight" (Singerman 216). However, Henri Angel says that "the film is incomprehensible without the Christian hypothesis" (Singerman 216). Based on particular dialogue between Fontaine and the other prisoners, I believe both of these statements to be true. Looking at the film from a religious perspective is necessary in order to obtain the secular message. I believe that Bresson uses religious language to present a secular theme, which is "the persistent fight" or the importance of human effort and perseverance to achieve one's goals.
This central theme is presented in the form of dialogue between the main character Fontaine and other prisoners. During the scenes where the prisoners are permitted to wash their face, Fontaine and the pastor exchange very few words, but these few words are vital in order to understand the theme. During one of these encounters, the priest says to Fontaine, "God will save you." Fontaine replies by saying, "only if we give him a hand." This statement by Fontaine is an example of the contrast between the religious language of the priest and Fontaine's use of religious language to present a secular theme. The priest talks to Fontaine as if God is in control, but Fontaine reverses it by saying that God is there, but can't do everything for us. People must "give him a hand," meaning human beings have to put an effort in to get what they desire out of life. Another example comes from a conversation between the pastor and another prisoner. The prisoner says to the pastor, “we can’t control fate.” The pastor replies, “we can-so he says,” as they then look over to Fontaine. Again, we see the use of religious concepts to present a secular theme. The prisoner believes in predestination, but the pastor explains how Fontaine believes it can be controlled. The religious language is used to show how there is such a thing as fate, but that fate is determined by human effort, and not by God. We later in the film see this to be true, as Fontaine manages to create a rope and hook, and escape with another prisoner named Francois Jost.
Although many argue that the film presents a religious theme, and others claim that it is secular, I believe that Bresson uses religious ideas and language to present a secular one, which is the idea that it takes human effort to achieve our desired goals. Looking at the religious language used in the film between the characters is important to understand the theme of "the persistant fight" or the power of human effort and perseverance.
I believe that looking at the film through a religious lens would be faulty, as others have stated. Within the film I think the main message is one of human struggle, and redemption, and the reality of human emotions. Singerman stated that “what is essential is that it develops in the hero the virtues of patience, stubbornness, and persistency. The work is in itself a form of asceticism.” I believe these statements truly outline the essence of the film in encompassing the spectrum of human emotion with wholly artistic methods. For example, within the film we see Fontaine within the cell; the camera tends to focus on the man and not the environment, creating a central fixation for the audience that allows the focus to become one of inner narrative. The audience will impart emotions and infer meaning on the singular focus of one individual, allowing the film to reflect human experience on the characters within the film.
ReplyDeleteEssentially, the film—to this writer—promotes human experience and artistry, though other thematic motifs do shine through. The main message of human expression and emotion, however, make A Man Escaped an allegory for other mediums of expression through the metaphoric lens of one individual. The character Fontaine permits the audience to experience a range of emotions through expression, allowing other messages (such as religion, politics, personal philosophies) to be unearthed within the film. To conclude, the main message of the film is to shine a light on the artistic effort within the narrative of the film, which exploits human emotion and allows other messages a chance to be communicated.
In my opinion there is a religious message in the film. Henri Angel says that Fontaine is an example of the power of faith, belief and hope (p. 224) and that is directly related to religion. And even thought the Christian religion is present in the movie those characteristics are present in all religions. So I would not say that the movie is preaching a specific religion but showing the benefits of having faith and hope. Having faith that he would get out of prison and persisting in building devices to leave, even when the other prisoners thought that was a terrible idea, is a very powerful message. Fontaine's situation in this film is a very extreme one, he was fighting for his life, and his faith in escaping and his hope for a better life lead him to success.
ReplyDeleteRafaela Hadba
I believe the message is religious, borderline moral. The two can be very different but they can also be very similar. There were two pastors in prison. They each provided a calm, encouraging presence. I think the reason they were used was to put a picture to this idea of 'hope' that is used throughout the movie. Hope is what is pushing Fontaine. His second neighbor had given up, and he was able to spark hope and fight for something better. His neighbor's outlook completely changed after that.
ReplyDeleteTypical prisoner/break out movies present the strive in the prisoner as winning or getting back at the opposition. This wasn't in line at all. Religion is hope in something bigger that is unexplainable that can help there and answer what we can't. That is what was instigating Fontaine. The Bible was actually quoted by Fontaine, "you can't serve two masters." There were other signs. Like a typical human would have killed Jost to make sure he was covered, only thinking of himself. He had a sense of trust and in the end was blessed, he needed a second person. Fontaine had confessed to not be too religious, but when it came down to the end he asked the pastor to give his last.