Le Trou (1960)--5/5

“Le Trou” corrects the problems of most other prison escape and heist movies. In meticulous detail, it’s only about the escape. Characterization is meted out only by way of the prisoners’ involvement in the escape.

A stand-in for new prisoner Gaspard, the audience is at first about half a step behind the plot. Once he joins in on the plan with his four hardened cellmates, we’re along for every (sometimes excruciatingly) tense moment.

Compare this to the average heist flick. In most, three quarters of the movie are devoted to the planning of the heist: assembling a team, mapping the scene of the crime, inventing gadgets, and so on. Once the crime actually begins, the conveniently—and arbitrarily—unrevealed characters and methods are put in play. Why are heist movies like this? To get to know the characters? I don’t think genre exercises are popular for their memorable characters.

Maybe it’s unfair to compare “Le Trou” with heist films. Escape films are generally more giving of information. It’s just that “Le Trou” is so striking in its deconstruction.

For the actors, “Le Trou” is a demonstration of sheer physicality. They actually hack thousands of times at the concrete floor to create the first of many holes. (They do this during the day, masked by the industrial sounds of working prisoners.) For about ten minutes, the camera is unblinking at their toil. If this sounds boring, it’s not at all. The frame vibrates with every blow. And compare the pristine concrete from the beginning to the end result of pulverized pebbles and dirt. It doesn’t matter what these guys did to be imprisoned. With every correct move, failure becomes unthinkable.