Director Jacques Becker is not on most lists of the best or most well-known French directors, but three of his films have become well regarded classics. Casque d’or (1952) helped Simone Signoret become a world wide star, while Touchez pas au grisbi (1954; Don’t Touch the Loot in English) has gone down as one of the best gangster pictures to come out of France. However, it might be his final film, Le trou, made in 1960, that has kept his name and work alive.
Le trou (The Hole in English, although it was released in 1964 as The Night Watch) is about an attempt by five men to break out of their prison cell. This is a true story, so true that Jean Keraudy, who plays Roland, the plotter of the escape, actually took part in the real event. Keraudy was never an actor and, in fact, no one else in the film had ever been in a film before either. José Giovanni, who wrote the novel and co-wrote the script, was also in prison when he heard of the attempt.
While Becker already reached an incredible amount of realism by casting Keraudy and a bunch of grizzled, non-actors, he worked hard to continue that realism throughout every aspect of the film. Even the editing and camera movements help this theme. When the men begin banging at the floor to start the hole with a makeshift hammer, Becker does not just show just the beginning. He makes the audience as eager to see where the floor’s hole would lead as the other four prisoners watching Roland. He holds the camera, only fading into another shot of Manu (Phelippe Leroy) doing the same thing. While this extends the film to a lengthy 131 minutes, it only heightens the tension, which Becker does perfectly at every chance he can.
One of the drawbacks of the film might be its lack of star power and use of non-actors, but somehow, these five men look like they have been in hundreds of movies like this. Their performances are amazing, particularly Leroy, who used the opportunity to launch a successful career. Another star performance is by Marc Michel, who plays Gaspard, the youngest prisoner. Gaspard’s life is the only one Becker devotes any time to, which makes his final decision even more heartbreaking.
Becker was an assistant director on Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion, which has been called the first great prison escape film, so it only makes sense that Becker would get a chance to contribute another milestone in the genre. He died shortly after the film was released, so he was not able to capitalize on the film’s popularity like his stars. Le trou is a fascinating picture, one that actually puts the audience in the cell with the prisoners. However, this is the one time in prison you will enjoy.