It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Claude Gaspard is the newest inmate to the prison and gets befriended with other four prisoners in the cell. Firstly he used to live in other block, then he was transferred. He was accused of attempted first degree murder, charged by his wife. So, the total five prisoners try hard their best to become escapists. At last, when their way of escape accomplishes, Claude Gaspard is escorted to the warden and there he's told that his wife lifted the charges against him, however the court finds it difficult to believe in the allegation made by his wife. Now he's free to go and he will make it with the other inmates except Geo. When they are ready to escape from the jail, they get caught red handed. Claude Gaspard was then transferred to a new block and you would feel sorry for him as Ronald says 'Poor Gaspard'. The hardship of their works to escape from the prison will get any spectator on nerves to the deepest. This movie will engage you utterly to the core and you will be in a state of 'nail-biting' and wondering what will happen next or will they be successful in their work?

I was not familiar with any of Becker's other films when I decided to check out Le Trou at Film Forum theatre the other day, and of course now will be seeking out his other films. I found Le Trou to be both super interesting and entertaining. Le Trou contains very few, if any of the traditional characters and storylines that seem to be requisite for modern day prison films (the corrupt guards who abuse their power and the inmates, the inmates who have an 'in' with someone in the prison system and get away with murder - literally and figuratively - the prisoner who everyone else picks on mercilessly, the 'king' inmate who everyone fears and really runs the place etc.) No , this is a very different prison film, very straightforward with no prison film cliches. Apparently most of the actors were non-professionals, but they were all great, believable, and likable. Also, there are many inmates to one room/cell, which creates a very strong bond amongst those sharing the cell and it's this grouping together that for me gave the film a kind of unique intimacy. Some reviewers complained about the loud banging as the prisoners tried to tunnel their way out, but I didn't even notice it, everything seemed natural and right to me. Le Tour is suspenseful and engaging throughout.

Asked to categorize this movie, most people would say it is a prison movie, which it is. And as with most such movies, there is an attempt to break out of that prison. But to me, it is primarily an engineering movie.Most engineering movies involve building something, such as the title bridge in "Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). Another example would be "Land of the Pharaohs" (1955), in which a pyramid is constructed in such a way that no one can break in and steal all the loot the pharaoh is planning on taking with him to the afterlife. In both those movies, however, engineering only plays a minor role compared to all the other goings-on. One such movie in which engineering plays a major role is "The Dam Busters" (1955), but the best engineering movie is "Flight of the Phoenix" (1965), in which survivors of a plane crash build a smaller plane out of the parts of the larger plane that crashed. In that movie, more than half the time is dedicated to this engineering task.In "The Hole," however, prisoners are not trying to build something, but rather to break through what has already been built and intended to keep them locked up. Perhaps because this movie was based on a true story written by one of the prisoners involved in the attempted breakout himself, what the prisoners have to do to get out is not merely implied or briefly indicated, as in most such movies, but rather is shown in great detail. One of the prisoners has broken out of prisons three times before, and so he knows all the tricks. In addition to seeing just how ingenious and resourceful he is, we also experience the physical effort that goes into breaking through concrete.As often happens in movies about criminals, you begin to identify with them and want them to succeed. And so, it is a little disappointing that someone rats them out just before they are about to leave. On the other hand, had they escaped, the prisoner who wrote the book would probably not have written it, and then we wouldn't have had this movie to watch. So, I guess things worked out for the best.

How could anyone sit and watch a movie at the edge of their seats for the whole running time of the movie without the slightest clue as to what might happen next and flicking few beads of sweat after tense scenes? Well, i just did.This movie is by far the most thrilling movie i've ever seen. The plot is simple- four men plan to escape from a prison. How they execute their plan is what enthralled me. They are lead by Roland, an expert in forging keys, digging burrows, listen to the unheard, and is the chief planner of the escape route having through knowledge of the map of the prison. They safely conceal the burrow they dig under their room with stacks of cardboard and with every passing day they explore the unexplored routes through the uninhabited regions of the prison and all the men share the workload equally. The final frontier between emancipation and incarceration is a concrete wall that would lead them to the sewer which goes a couple of lanes past the prison. The dig an alternate route which is 10-foot long and after days of strenuous work they finally breach it. When they feel the next night is the opportune time to break-free, they are caught on time by a cordon of cops and are sent to solitary cells thanks to the information drawn from their new inmate Claude, who takes the bait laid by the Warden and blots out the clandestine plan of his new roommates.A movie that deserves the appreciation of all the movie critics and cinephiles in the world.