Special guest: film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum.
“A MAN ESCAPED is both the most realistic and the most poetic of jailbreak films.” - Chicago Tribune
“A lesson in cinema - it teaches by demonstration all sorts of things that are not necessary in a movie. I can’t think of a single unnecessary shot in A MAN ESCAPED.” - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
Tuesday, September 23, 6:00 p.m. | Based on the memoir of André Devigny, a French Resistance fighter, A MAN ESCAPED tells a story perfectly summed up in its title: the meticulous escape plan of a man held by Nazis. Accompanied by a first-person introspective voice-over, Bresson limits what we see to the intimate physical space of Fontaine, the prisoner. Each small movement, sound, texture, and tool is emphasized, drawing the viewer into the tactile experience of a ritualistic choreography of escape. Special Guest: Film Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum.
Awards & Nominations
Winner - Best Director, Cannes Film Festival
Winner - Top Foreign Films Award, National Board of Review
Winner - Best Film, French Syndicate of Cinema Critics
Interiority on Screen Lecture Series | Fall 2025
This series focuses on cinematic works that depict the subjectivities and mental states of their characters in unconventional, intimate, and poetic manners. Tuesday film screenings will be accompanied by lectures, where these films will be discussed not only from the standpoint of critical spectatorship but also from a filmmaker’s point of view. Select titles offered with Sunday encores. Tickets for Sunday encores are regular price and do not include the lecture. Presented in collaboration with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Art History, Theory, and Criticism department. Lecturer: Anahita Ghazvinizadeh, Assistant Professor of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu