"The Hole" is the last film of French director Jaques Becker. Compared with the French New Wave and even Robert Bresson, Jaques Becker is rarely known, but after seeing his works, you will understand that the greatness of French cinema is not only reflected in the A powerful new wave.
The storyline of "The Hole" is not complicated, but the specific process of its jailbreak is complicated enough! The four inmates with plans to escape welcome a new prisoner full of unknowns, and this plot will also feel familiar (Bresson's escape story has a similar situation, but it is 1+1 instead of 4+1).
What fascinates me the most about this film is the quiet composure that runs through the whole film. The director uses an anti-dramatic approach to portray dramatic suspense. There is no strong emotion in the whole film from beginning to end, except for the finale. The unpainted approach feels very real, in stark contrast to most mainstream movies trying to portray the emotions of the characters.
In the film "Hole", it revolves around "prison break" from beginning to end, and all plots are directly related to "prison break". The director will never branch off a topic to narrate content that has nothing to do with the theme, and the 2 hours make the audience very concentrated. In the film, only the clack of the protagonist's tools, the sounds of dialogue, the echoes of walking in the tunnel, all are tightly integrated into the storyline. What I hate the most is the usual background sound processing of some so-called Hollywood blockbusters, with deafening voices or music (especially in movie theaters) to remind you that the plot is going to be tense! The protagonist is in danger! The story has taken a turn! As everyone knows, this distracts the audience from the film itself.
From the story itself, "The Hole" is another suspense film. The viewers' thoughts are closely linked with the final fate of the five prisoners. I believe that the moment when the small mirror is turned at the end of the film will make many people's heart stop beating. one second.
This is also a fully male film, with only one female character in the whole film, one scene, and one or two minutes of appearance. Although the actors in this film are not well-known actors, their performances are real and powerful, and their characters are distinct. I believe this is also in line with the director's own style and the needs of this film.
Judging from the disc, the restoration of the CC version is excellent, it is hard to believe that a 1960 film can have such a clear picture quality.
All in all, this is the best movie I've seen in a while.
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