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Le Trou

1960 · TMDB 8.2

Directed by Jacques Becker

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

Why it matters

Four prisoners dig an escape tunnel in a French jail, their shared project stripping away all pretence and forging a new collective identity.

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