This is How Movies Should Be Made

Did you people see the same film I saw?

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This film is absolutely exceptional, from all points of view: story, actors, director, cinematography, everything. If you like movies with action in prisons, this is the best of all. And the most realistic (the script is inspired by a true story). Although static, because all the action is taking place in a prison cell, the film has great tension and is watching with the soul to the mouth. Michel Constantin and Philippe Leroy in their best roles. Great, great film!

I saw this recently on a DVD. Had seen it in the early 90s on a VHS. Was dying to see this again. Had been on my radar for years. What an amazing piece of cinema this is. This is one of the most realistic, minimalist n detailed prison movie. Surprisingly the acting by all the inmates were very good considering most of em r non actors. The direction is superb. The movie was totally unpredictable with lots of suspense n tension throughout without any music. The tension in the film is sublime and at times unbearable. Every detail was properly shown. The black n white cinematography was top notch n boy the editing was crisp. I started this movie around 2 am n i never felt like yawning or distracted. Been taking creatine n was gulping too much water recently but never felt like pausing this film n going for a pee break. Was totally glued. This movie took away my sleep that i felt like writing a review immediately aft finishing it around 4 am. This movie is intense, claustrophobic, captivating, gripping n thrilling prison drama. Folks who haven't seen this shud avoid reading bah the plot. Jus knowing that it is a prison movie n inmates r planning to escape shud b suffice. One of the best thing in this movie is the bond between the inmates. Its about loyalty, bond, boldness, cooperation, hard work n friendship. The film lacks most prison film clichés. There are no sadistic prison guards, and all the prisoners seem like regular guys. This movie is based on a real life prison escape, co written by one of the person involved in the real event n another real life person who was involved in the escape acted as the leader/planner of the group. In one scene i was shocked to see Jean Keraudy (the planner's) hand. His fingers were amputated, telling us right away that he has lived a tough life. Definitely for fans of movies like A man escaped, Brute force, Shawshank redemption, The Great escape, etc..

It is known to everybody that human beings long for freedom more than anything else in the world. This is why everybody wants to experience liberty and would go to any extent to be free ! It is around this universally accepted theme that "Le Trou" was made by Jacques Becker. It is also a first rate "Prison Film" for which film director Jean Becker collaborated with his father. Contrary to commonly accepted public opinions, Jacques Becker showed that even criminals are soft targets when they work as a team. They are so sure of themselves that many a times they fail to anticipate that they would be ignominiously betrayed by somebody whom they had trusted. It is a common tendency in Hollywood films to portray policemen as firm, harsh, soft and wary as prisoners might try to influence them. However, policemen in France are known for their sense of humor as they make it a point to act as middlemen in order to avoid violence. American films have too much violence but 'Le Trou' depicted a different type of violence-it is the violence which is unleashed when some plumbers steal their personal stuff.

Jacques Becker's minimalist and effective "The Hole" tells the story of five prisoners, housed in a French prison during the late 1940s, who plot to dig a tunnel and so escape confinement. Becker would use mostly non-actors for the film's central roles, and seems heavily influenced by both Bresson's "A Man Escaped" and the "prisoner of war" movies of Jean Renoir, a director for whom Becker was an assistant. Becker would die of a heart attack shortly after completing his film."The Hole's" characters are an odd bunch, some sentenced for murder, some mysteriously aloof, some from privileged backgrounds and some suspiciously regarded by others as being untrustworthy at best, prison spies at worst. This all strongly recalls Bresson's (superior) "A Man Escaped", in which a character frets over whether or not to trust or kill a cell mate prior to proceeding with his plans for escape. Bresson's hero decides to trust, there are no betrayals, and the film eventually celebrates the prospects of humanity (the escape would have failed without our hero trusting his fellowman). Becker's film, however, presents the more sour, cynical flip-side to Bresson's; it's a film about disloyalty and the impossibility of solidarity."The Hole's" cinematography, by Ghislain Cloquet, also recalls Bresson's work, which was likewise gracious and almost saintly. And like "A Man Escaped", Becker's film features a heightened use of sounds; the chipping away of concrete, the scraping of metal, heavy breathing and long, tense silences. His plot and tone are wonderfully minimalist, recalling Dassin and Melville's work during the period. Melville would regard "The Hole" as a personal favourite.8/10 – Worth one viewing.