"The following is a true story." "I present it as it happened, without adornment." "AT THIS SITE" "UNDER GERMAN OCCUPATION, 10,000 MEN SUFFERED," "VICTIMS OF THE NAZIS." "7,000 PASSED AWAY." "A MAN ESCAPED" "OR" "THE WIND BLOWS WHERE IT WISHES" "Based on the Narrative by" "Script and Dialogue by" "Cinematography by" "Thank you, Officers." "Stay here." "Damned dog!" "We forbid you to make another escape attempt!" "Let's go!" "This will teach you to stay nice and quiet for a few days!" "I could feel I was being watched." "I didn't dare budge." "Nothing broken, but I probably wasn't a pretty sight." "I wiped myself off as best I could." "The charges against me were so severe and I'd aggravated them so clearly." "Why hadn't they shot me?" "While waiting in the courtyard, I'd gotten used to the idea of death." "I would have preferred an immediate execution." "The tapping of my neighbor was of no help." "I even lost courage for a moment and cried." "I slept so deeply that the guards had to wake me at daybreak." "Get up." "Get up!" "Instinctively, I pretended not to be able to get up and made a show of tremendous effort just to sit up." "Did I owe my life to this meager deception?" "That's enough." "They beat me back with feet and fists and I found myself alone." "My cell was hardly nine feet by six feet." "The furnishings were rudimentary." "A wood frame supporting the mattress and two blankets." "In a recess near the door was a slop pail." "Finally, fixed to the wall was a stone shelf." "I managed to climb onto this shelf to reach the window." "In the small courtyard that extended before me three comfortably dressed and clean shaven men were walking apparently without supervision." "Pay close attention." "I'll be back." " Your name?" " Fontaine." "I'm Terry." "Any way to send word out?" "I have a way." "Nonetheless, I knew I had to be wary." "Catch." "Now that a stranger had told me "I have a way,"" "everything had changed for me." "Out." "Out!" "Come!" "In spite of my handcuffs, I was able to wash up and clean my wounds." "Out!" "Soon, I'd managed to communicate with my neighbor." "A young worker at a bronze foundry, he had killed a German soldier during a quarrel." "He was to be executed any day." "He was 19." "With the string they'd given me and my handkerchief," "I fashioned a kind of a sack." "Tomorrow give me your letters." "May 2nd, Dear Mother, I'm in prison..." "To reassure my family and give them a hope I did not possess." "Yes, and especially to warn my superiors that the post transmitter I was in charge of was aiding the Germans as they'd cracked the code." "I was determined to run the risk." "And what a risk." "Trusting my letters to a stranger could mean the end for me as well as the recipients." "We could also be seen in the courtyard or interrupted at any moment." "Got a safety pin?" "A safety pin?" "Wait." "He walked off toward the building that housed the women." "This is from them." "On the paper, written in a feminine hand, was the word "courage."" "There was also a safety pin." "My neighbor had taught me the method." "But it didn't work right away and I hardly believed it would." "PRESS, PULL OUT, KEYHOLE, MECHANISM" "I could finally relax my stiff arms and wrists." "I felt a sudden sense of victory." "As a special exception, the head guard allowed Terry to see his daughter on certain days." "I wasn't aware of it until much later." "I was far from suspecting the danger to himself and to her." "When she returned home, the letters were sealed, stamped and dropped in the box." "Your letters went out yesterday." "They should have arrived by now." "Thank you." "You've done your duty." "That will help you hold out." "Look." "Be careful." "Well, Lieutenant Fontaine." "Have you come to terms with your defeat?" "I'll be frank." "In your place, I would've jumped out of the car myself." "But now you'll give me your word that you won't try to escape again." "I give you my word." "Who were we kidding?" "He certainly didn't believe me." "As for myself, I was determined to escape at the first opportunity." "Did he hope to see a starving man throw himself onto his meager scraps?" "My first meal in four days." "My visits to the window grew longer and longer." "I could see the courtyard, the walls and the infirmary yard." "I unconsciously prepared myself." "I knew they conducted executions within the prison compound." "A crazy thought crossed my mind." "He was there." "I stayed up into the night teaching him the Bataillonaire's march he'd asked for." "What does it matter?" "Who cares?" "All young guys who never had much luck." "It was the only help I could give him." "The next day the head guard came for me." "Jacket." "Towel." "I had left the ground floor for good." "I was now in cell 107 on the top floor." "Everyone out!" "Everyone out!" "Nobody to my right." "The cell was empty." "To my left, a neighbor who hadn't replied." "I tried to read on their faces what kind of men they might be." "I also studied the walls." "Get in yesterday?" "I was downstairs for 15 days... or 15 years!" "You get used to it." "Yes, I assure you." "The name's Hébrard." "No talking!" "I'm Fontaine." "Time to empty our slop pails and run a little water over our faces, then back to our cells for the entire day." "With nothing to do, no news and in terrible solitude, we were 100 unfortunates awaiting our fate." "I had no illusions about my own." "If I could only escape, run away." "It was chance or idleness that gave me my first break." "I often sat across from my door with nothing better to do than let my gaze wander." "It was made of two panels of six oak boards held within a frame of the same thickness." "In the gap between two boards, I saw that the joining wood was not oak, but wood of another color, beech or poplar." "There would surely be a way to take the door apart." "To get an iron spoon... tin or aluminum being too soft or too brittle..." "I had to wait through several meals." "I made a kind of chisel from it." "No, the boards weren't joined by mortise and tenon joints carved into the oak itself, but by strips of soft wood my tool could easily tackle." "I estimated that it would take four or five days to make it through a strip by cutting or chipping the wood." "But every evening at the same time, I also had to get some air." "Progress was slow due to my fear of making noise and the constant threat of being taken by surprise." "Moreover, I had to keep brushing under the doorway with a bit of straw torn from the cell broom." "Fontaine, are you there?" "Is that you, Terry?" "We meet again." "How I've missed you." "I'm leaving." "Are they releasing you?" "They're taking me away, lord knows where." "How he could evade surveillance and come to my door, I'd never know." "My neighbor downstairs?" "Executed day before yesterday." "Good-bye." "Terry's departure and the death of a comrade I had never seen left me in distress." "Nevertheless, I carried on with my work." "It prevented me from thinking." "The door just had to open." "I had no plans for afterwards." "A new arrival, the Pastor de Leyris would earn my trust, fulfill my need for companionship." "They arrested me yesterday right at the pulpit." "No time to take a thing." "Nothing?" "I always wanted time alone with my Bible someday, for meditation." "I don't have a Bible, but I've got a pencil." "That's huge." "You need to keep busy." "Write, keep your mind sharp." "I keep myself busy." "Three boards should make a big enough opening." "Across from me in 108, someone kept lookout, which made my work much easier." "On the other hand, my neighbor's silence troubled me." "We can speak openly." "They're all downstairs on the other side." "Are you afraid?" "I knew he was there." "I was sure of it." "My neighbor worried me so much I no longer dared touch my door." "I settled for plugging the holes with paper I blackened on the ground." "He threw us a distraught gaze." "And that night at the window, Blanchet..." "that was his name..." "For some dollars, Mr. Blanchet?" "Did they belong to you?" "No, to a Jewish woman." "I'd never seen her before." "She gave them to me the day she was captured." "And how did they find out?" "From a letter in a bag of laundry." "They'll release you." "No." " What can I do for you?" " Nothing." "There's always something." "If you want to help me, stop carving." "You'll get the whole floor punished." "After three weeks of effort making as little noise as possible," "I'd managed to separate three boards along the sides." "But they were held in the frame at the top and the bottom by joints which bent the handle of my spoon." "To break apart the edge of the frame, I'd need to find another spoon." "Only then would I have enough leverage." "The Bible." "I'm in luck." "A miracle!" "Everything has changed since yesterday." "Quiet!" "No talking!" "I'm in luck myself." "The frame broke, but over a bigger area than I'd expected." "I was able to put the pieces back in place and make them stick." "Why bother?" "To fight." "To fight the walls, to fight myself, to fight the door." "You, too, Mr. Blanchet, should fight and hope." "Hope for what?" "To go home, to be free." "Free?" " Somebody waiting for you?" " Nobody." "A friend?" "I don't have friends." "Fight anyway." "Fight for everyone here." "Plus, it helps." "If you only look out for yourself..." "What else are you doing?" "I think of you, Mr. Blanchet, and it gives me courage." "For me, real courage would be to kill me." "I tried." "I made a noose with my laces." "The nail broke." "And then?" "I heard tapping on the wall." "That was me when I arrived." "Why didn't you respond?" "Why?" "I was afraid they would open or close my door forcefully." "Fortunately, it was up to me to handle it." "Okay?" "Okay." "His wife turned him in." "Betrayed him." "These things happen..." "In life." "That's horrible." "She doesn't stand much of a chance." "He didn't kill her?" "He nearly did." "When he got here, we thought he'd go mad." "And now he's just another man." "His face shows neither hatred nor even suffering anymore." "He's called Orsini." "Talking about me, Pastor?" "I was saying you're the bravest man alive." "A month of patient work and the door was open." "It took a lot of time to put it back in place and camouflage it." "Inside the building, no patrols, no guards." "Getting into the hallway wasn't that big of a deal." "But I also had a goal." "NO EATING, NO EXIT" "What's that?" "It's me, cell 107." "Impossible." "Hold out." "If I have to, I'll come back tomorrow." "His surprise pleased me." "That night I went to sleep less miserable." "That was you in the hallway." "Don't deny it." "It was me." "You're leaving." "How will you do it?" "I don't have the slightest idea." "The head guard and the sergeant slept on the second floor." "The corporal slept on the ground floor near the door to which he had the key." "This door remained locked throughout the night." "I visualized every possibility and even what was impossible." "I devised a thousand plans, but acted on none." "Read and pray." "God will save you." "He'll save us if we give him the chance." "You never pray?" "Sometimes." "When things get bad?" "Yes." " That's easy." " Too easy." "It would be too easy if God saw to everything." "Fontaine, you're the only one even thinking of escape." "The only one because it's impossible." "Take me." "You won't get through." "I have to." "In military terms, it's called reconnaissance." "Be careful." "If I'm not in the hallway by 10:00..." "At 10:00 I was under the skylight." "I was certain of disaster." "The exit route from the building and how to dismantle your door." "Read it carefully and tear it up." "You can count on me, but I'm not the "bravest man alive."" "You're able to forgive and forget." "That's something." "I think about it, but it's like it happened to someone else." "Don't worry." "Everything will go well." "40 feet of rope strong enough to hold a man is what I needed." "The netting from the bed frame supplied about 120 feet of flexible and sturdy wire." "I made my first segment of rope with materials from my pillow." "The little horsehair it contained went into the mattress." "I folded the fabric I obtained in quarters turning the edges inward to prevent fraying." "I twisted it tightly." "By wrapping a wire in the opposite direction" "I was able to maintain the tension." "Your door?" "I'll try again." "Try, Orsini." "Try again." "Tomorrow I'll tell you if we should split up or stick together." "What's wrong?" "Too long, too complicated." "All of it." "But it's the only way." "There's another way." "Tell me." "During the walk with two ropes and two hooks." " What hooks?" " He didn't say." " And the guards in the walkway?" " He waits until they've gone past." "Where does he wait?" "On the roof of the bathroom." "He climbs the drainpipe and stays hidden." "By day, he'll be seen from the building." "His plan isn't good." "The next day, I couldn't talk to Orsini." "They took him in for interrogation." "The interrogation?" "They put you at ease." "They threaten you." "You know the system." "Orsini is happy." " You okay?" " Fine." "You need to keep cool." " You quitting?" " They'll set me free." " You believe them?" " Yes." "You're right." "No talking!" "It's always the same." "Can't you keep your mouth shut?" "Don't shoot." "Orsini." "I was so closely watched for eight days, we lost contact." "What was he doing?" "I couldn't make sense of it." "What's the matter?" "Where's Orsini?" "My God, let him succeed." "No talking!" "Will they shoot me?" "Hang in there, Orsini." "Surely not." "My rope broke on the second wall." "You'll need hooks, Fontaine." "What hooks?" "How?" "With what?" "The lantern frame." "Careful." "Don't blame yourself." "You couldn't have stopped him." "He couldn't wait any longer." "Why not?" "Out of despair?" "Too much hope for a new life." "A new life?" "Perhaps that's what Christ meant." ""Unless one is born again..."" "I copied out the passage for you." "These are his words to Nicodemus." ""Nicodemus said unto him, 'How can a man be born when he is old?" "Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" "Jesus answered, 'Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again." "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.'"" " You hear me?" " I'm listening." "Fire!" " It was him." " Are you sure?" "Sure?" "Can you be sure of anything here?" "I emptied everything into the drain." "The terrace of our building as well as the compound walls must have the same ledge." "I had to wait." "I was close to my goal, and the smallest error could prove fatal." "It's there." "I see." "I knew it was dangerous to descend into the walkway and climb the second wall." "My strength had diminished." "I run a line between the two walls and I cross over like a monkey hanging by my hands and feet." "Just for that, you need two hooks, three in total." "You have them?" "I will have them." "Orsini had to blow it so you could succeed." "That's amazing." "I'm not telling you anything new." "Yes." "What's amazing is that you're the one saying it." "I made the third hook with the two shortest bars." "It was every bit as sturdy and functional as the others." "Still using the wire, I fashioned three loops which I attached to the foot of each hook." "My tests showed that strong leverage would not damage the hooks or the loops." "Everyone to the courtyard!" "Everyone to the courtyard!" "I just saw three of our comrades executed for smuggling letters out." "I've been instructed to tell you that whoever sends letters will face the same fate." "Those who have a pencil may turn it in tonight at mealtime." "Starting tomorrow, we will search the cells and whoever is found in possession of a pencil will immediately be put against the wall and shot." "Is that understood?" "Back, march!" "You turning yours in?" "It's better that way." "No talking!" "Pencil?" "No pencil." "What foolishness." "And only in order not to give in." "The next day, the thought of a search paralyzed me." "Package." "A package." "Is this what saved me?" "Perhaps." "And what a resource!" "Too bad." "It had to be done." "I made braids just like I'd seen my mother make with my sister's hair." "Nothing was spared except for one handkerchief." "With the string, I made the connections." "I would throw this rope from the compound wall to the exterior wall." "It had to be supple and consistent." "The wire wasn't suitable." "Besides, I had exhausted my supply." "With the blanket Blanchet gave me, I had enough to finish the other rope." "We only went out now in small groups of about 15." "The prison was filling up." "It wasn't uncommon to see two prisoners per cell." "Others appeared and disappeared like ghosts." "I even saw one of them dressed for a wedding." "If Fontaine can go, now's the time." "His case isn't good." " He's a snitch." " What if he's right?" "Fontaine talked too much." "He's reckless." "Not too tough, Father?" "They put me in with the pastor." "He's a good companion." "You must warn him." "What's going to happen will happen." "There's nothing we can do." "He can." "That's what he says." "Nobody believes it anymore." "You're drawing it out." "Drawing it out?" "You're thinking too much." "You keep fiddling." "Me?" "Do you really need a second?" "I'm waiting for an answer." "Who?" "Across the way, 110." "He stands up to them." "He's got guts." "Your plan is a fairy tale." "After three months, you're not as strong." "You're stronger." "You adapt and adjust." "It's a blessing." "Or a trap." "Think you can really make it?" "I'm ready." "Then don't wait too long." "You would follow me." "If I could change my body." "We'll meet again." "Maybe in another life." "In this one." "You have to believe it." "Believe in your hooks and ropes, and in yourself." "You have doubts." "The hard part is to set out." "Come." "The investigation of your case has been concluded, Lt. Fontaine." "The charges of espionage and planning a bomb attack are punishable by death." "Accordingly, you will be executed by firing squad." "Let's go." "Were they taking me back to the prison?" "It was a painful journey." "Would I return to the same cell?" "I broke into nervous laughter that relieved me." "Then, a bit later, I once again feared that all my efforts would be for nothing." "Dressed half as French soldier, half as German soldier, he was disgustingly filthy." "He seemed barely 16." "Are you German?" "French?" "What's your name?" "Jost." "François Jost." "Was he a stool pigeon?" "Did they think I'd talk, shaken up by my verdict?" "Give me your hand, Jost." "There's not much space." "They caught me, brought me back and convicted me of desertion." "You believe me?" "Yes." "I believed him, but at the same time I felt a horrible uneasiness." "It was for France." "Why else would I sign up?" "France is your khaki pants and leggings." "That's all that's left of it." "How could I know?" "You should have known." "I hadn't finished my sentence and they sent me to the rail road." "I stopped the French passengers from getting on the railway carriages." "Which ones?" "The ones reserved for their troops." "Carriage guard." "That's how I arrived three days ago." "Stand in front of the door." "When it opens, ask for an extra mattress." "His request was granted and he even received a blanket." "The two of you were drunk?" "We did nothing wrong." "We tried out my gun and shot in the air." "It wasn't only in the air." "Was the cop French?" "Yes." "You saw him fall down?" "I don't know." "We took off running." "Exactly what we shouldn't have done." "Fifteen minutes later, we were in a cell at St. Paul." "They came looking for me." " Why?" " To change prison." "What about you?" "It's time to be quiet now." "You can finish it." "Go to bed and sleep." "The timing of his arrival with the reading of my sentence struck me." "There was no time to lose." "I'd have to make a choice." "Either bring Jost with me or do away with him." "In that case, my heaviest hook would be an effective weapon." "But would I have the courage to kill this kid in cold blood?" "Wash up." "Get going." "Don't wait any longer." "Not alone anymore?" "Watch out, Fontaine." "You don't talk?" "I'm not in the habit." "I know why you're here." "Say it." "You're here because you blew up a bridge." "I swear..." "I would've loved that job." "That job?" "But, Jost, when you blow up a bridge, they're well guarded, you sometimes pay with your life." "You can't be a chicken or fainthearted." "I'm no chicken or fainthearted." "You can't serve two masters." "You chose to wear this uniform." "I didn't choose a thing." "Does my jacket bother you?" "No point." "That won't change a thing." "You are what you are." "What am I?" "Stay in your filth." "Hang onto your lice." "I bet you're covered in them." "Maybe a few." "Really?" "You just had to come here." "They're all gone." "What's the matter?" "Nothing." "You think they'll hold me for a long time?" "You're asking me?" "A very long time." "Weeks, months, a year, two years maybe." "Locked up in here?" "Or only a few days." "That depends on how useful you are to them." "Useful?" "Watch out, Jost." "The war will end someday and they'll lose it." " They won't lose the war." " They will, and they'll leave." "They aren't much protection." "They'll leave you behind in your country, with nobody to defend you." "And there will be no pity." "What should I fear at my age?" "No pity for your age." "Think it over." "Think what over?" "It's too late anyway." "Too late?" " Do you believe in luck?" " I used to." "It didn't work out." "Maybe you're the one who blew it." "Why did you leave home?" "Why not?" "Something to do." "What did your father say?" "He didn't give a damn." " And your mother?" " She followed me to the station." "I shook her off and managed to take the train." "She must really have loved you." "More than my brothers, even more than my sister." " You've got a sister?" " She was little, but pretty, beautiful." "My mother was pretty too." "Don't you want to see them again?" "Yes, but I don't see how." "What are you writing?" "Come see." "It's our pencil." "It's yours too if you need it." "Why hide it?" "It's forbidden." "If they find it, they shoot us." "Shot for a pencil?" "The evening meal was served without me telling Jost any more." "The night was dark." "The following night would be darker still." "It had to be tomorrow." "But would I have to kill him?" "Wake up, Jost." "My last wishes if I fail." "If you would please..." "I promise." "My God." "I wrote down all I've done and what I still have to do to escape." "I'd like it to be known." "Pray for me, Father." "You too." "Good-bye." "I would never have that chance." "What if you did?" "For example, on the way to interrogation." "What would you do?" "I'd make use of it and escape." "You think so?" "Yes." "Sometimes it's easier with two." "We help each other out." "It's not only on the way to interrogation." "What do you mean?" "I mean if you agree to help me, we might be able..." "To get out of here?" "Are you out of your mind?" "Have you seen those walls?" "And those bars?" "Come on, Fontaine." "Think about it." "You gonna laugh?" "I don't laugh." "I've thought it all through, calculated everything." "From getting out of the building to crossing over the walkway." "There are still unforeseen factors." "We might have surprises." "I say "we" because now..." "And believe me, Jost, all the odds are in my favor." "I'm absolutely sure of the tools I've made, sure of myself, sure of my luck and yours." "You won't regret following me." "Once we're out, I'll take care of you." "I'll help you make the most of your freedom, I swear." "Quite a job you've done." "It's tempting." "Tempting?" "Jost, it's not up to you now." "You must understand." "I'm free to say yes or no." "Now you know everything." "I know everything?" "Enough." "I warn you not to shout, not to sound the alarm." "If you report me, or if we're caught because of you..." "Who do you take me for, Fontaine?" "Is that yes?" "Yes." "I emptied my mattress into Jost's and cut the cloth following the markings." "In less than two hours, the rope was ready and tested, the cell was organized and swept." "You'll tap?" "I will." "Good-bye, my friend." "First heel, then toe." "We had made four bundles." "One with our shoes tied together, another with our jackets, a third with the big rope and its hooks and the fourth with the softer rope for the walkway." "The gravel crunched under our feet." "We had to stop." "It took us more than 20 minutes to reach the end of the terrace over the small courtyard." "What was that creaking we heard at regular intervals?" "I couldn't imagine what it was." "He was armed with a tommy gun." "I could make out the grenades hanging from his belt and the bayonet sticking out of its sheath." "The bells struck midnight." "Then 1:00 a.m." "Their movements were identical." "They went back and forth along the walls rarely reaching the corner, never passing it." "By descending on the other side," "I could hide in the corner and wait for the right moment." "This man had to disappear." "Your turn." "Go down." "I let go of the iron hook." "It didn't seem a sure weapon." "I had to act but couldn't." "With both hands I restrained the beating of my heart." "Was he sitting down?" "Was he lighting a cigarette?" "He wasn't coming any closer to me." "He was right there, very close, about a meter away from me." "He made a half-turn." "He'd forgotten our jackets and shoes on the roof, but I didn't say a thing." "Alone, I might have remained there." "All I knew about the guard system is that there was a sentry booth positioned at each corner." "Was it occupied or not?" "It wasn't." "He's alone." "Cut the electrical wire." "How?" "Quickly." "The hook." "Jost trembled." "Perhaps I did as well." "I hesitated." "The bells struck 4:00." "Time passed." "Our chances got slimmer." "Jost." "If only my mother could see me."