On July 7 Dr Jeffrey Hanson (Harvard University) talked about “‘The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth’: Grace and Human Initiative in Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped.“
Dr Hanson (https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/people/jeff-hanson) is a senior research associate in philosophy, working in The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences. His research is motivated by an ongoing interest in the practical value of philosophy for human flourishing, and he draws on the whole history of philosophy and theology for both his scholarly work and popular publications on literature, music, film, and popular culture.
Bresson’s classic A Man Escaped (1956) enthrals the viewer with a minutious depiction of how Fontaine, a captured member of the French Résistance, prepares for his flight from jail. The film is based on the memoirs of André Devigny and it shows an instance in history where a human being, against all odds, manages to escape atrocious evil.
A Man Escaped inspires hope and patience in difficult times, not solely because it puts things into perspective. The film might even teach us how to deal with the various kinds of confinement and restrictions we are currently experiencing, encouraging attentiveness and dedication.
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