1001 films you must see before you die- Part VIII: 1960-1964

Le Trou ("the hole") is a 1960 film directed by Jacques Becker. It was called The Night Watch when first released in the United States, but is released under its French title today.
The film tells the true story of five prison inmates in La Santé Prison in France in 1947. The five dig, tunnel and saw their way in an attempt to break out of the prison in 1947. Director Becker, who died months after the film completed shooting, used mostly non-actors for starring roles in the film including one man who was actually involved in the 1947 escape.

This movie is actually a re-make of a silent film (Story of Floating Weeds) Ozu directed in the 1930's. The 1959 version has both sound and color. It was a collaboration between two studios, Shochiku (Ozu's film company) and Daiei. This was a rare chance for Ozu to work with Daiei's great cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, the man who filmed such classics as Ugetsu and Rashomon. The Daiei studio also provided some of the leading ladies of their time, Machiko Kyo and Ayako Wakao.
The acting in this movie is first-rate and the cinematography is lyrical and beautiful. Pay attention to the rich colors in this film, especially the reds. The movie tells the story of a failing troupe of Kabuki players who drift (like floating weeds) into a fishing village for their next (and ultimately last) set of performances. As the movie progresses, we learn more about the characters and their many personality flaws. But these flaws only serve to make the characters more endearing, perhaps because we can see a little of ourselves and the people we know.