{ "id": "ep8cnpy8mc", "slug": "the-escape", "title": "The Escape", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Escape is the international title of La fuga, a 2001 Spain–Argentina crime drama by Eduardo Mignogna: seven inmates tunnel out of 1928 Buenos Aires penitentiary into a coal shop; San Sebastian competitor, 115 min, IMDb 6.5.", "snippet": "The Escape is the international title of La fuga, a 2001 Spain–Argentina crime drama by Eduardo Mignogna: seven inmates tunnel out of 1928 Buenos Aires penitentiary into a coal shop; San Sebastian competitor, 115 min, IMDb 6.5.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films.yr-2000-2002", "markdown": "# The Escape\n\n**The Escape** is the international title of *La fuga*, a 2001 Spanish–Argentine crime drama directed by Eduardo Mignogna, set in 1928 Buenos Aires, where seven inmates escape the National Penitentiary through a tunnel that opens into a coal and timber shop.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) The film competed at the San Sebastian Film Festival and was released in Spain on 11 October 2001.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | *La fuga* (international title The Escape); composer Federico Jusid's site also lists it as \"The Getaway\"[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [3](https://federicojusid.com/project/the-getaway/) |\n| Country and year | Spain–Argentina co-production, 2001[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) |\n| Director and screenplay | Eduardo Mignogna; screenplay by Mignogna, Jorge Goldenberg, and Graciela Maglie, based on Mignogna's own novel[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) |\n| Running time | 115 minutes per Cineuropa and Variety; AllMovie lists 117 minutes[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) • [4](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-escape-am200060) |\n| Spanish release | 11 October 2001 (Cineuropa); AllMovie lists 24 May 2001[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [4](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-escape-am200060) |\n| Principal cast | Miguel Angel Sola, Ricardo Darin, Gerardo Romano, Norma Aleandro[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) |\n| Contemporary rating | IMDb 6.5 per aggregator data[5](https://goodwatch.app/movie/86154-the-escape) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and genre\n\nThe story is set in the summer of 1928. Several men crawl through a tunnel from the National Penitentiary of Buenos Aires, but their calculations fail and the hole leading to freedom opens in the middle of a coal and timber shop in Buenos Aires, owned by a Spanish couple.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) The film then retells the fate of each of the escapees: an anarchist, a crook, three murderers, a card cheater, and an innocent man.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/)\n\nThe narrative is carried in voiceover by Laureano Irala, played by Miguel Angel Sola, and opens with the seven men crawling through the tunnel to escape the Buenos Aires prison in 1928, emerging in a coal store.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) The episode Variety judged most successful is the tragic tale of escapee Julio Bordiola and his wife Rita.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/)\n\nGenre-wise, the film deliberately combines conventions. Variety wrote that it pays a dramatic price for mixing popular genres, including the jail-bust thriller, melodrama, and gangster drama, and that though well-crafted and entertaining it sometimes feels contrived and manipulative.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/)\n\n## Identity and disambiguation\n\nThe subject is the 2001 theatrical feature *La fuga*, a Spain–Argentina co-production directed by Eduardo Mignogna and classified as a drama and crime film.[3](https://federicojusid.com/project/the-getaway/) Its English title, The Escape, collides with at least two unrelated television films of the same period. The Swedish Film Database records a 1997 Swedish TV film titled The Escape, 91 minutes long, broadcast on TV3 on 26 June 2001 and again on 27 September 2002.[6](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/item/?itemid=47091&type=film) Encyclopedia.com separately documents a 1998 TV film of the same title directed by Stuart Gillard, a prison-escape thriller starring [Patrick Dempsey](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-dempsey), Brigitte Bako, and [Colm Feore](https://www.edgepedia.org/colm-feore), in which prisoner Clayton escapes and is pursued by the sadistic guard Hickman.[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/escape) Neither has any connection to Mignogna's feature beyond the English title.\n\n## Production and credits\n\nThe screenplay was written by Eduardo Mignogna with Jorge Goldenberg and Graciela Maglie, and the film is based on Mignogna's own novel.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) [Cinematography](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinematography) was by Marcelo Camorino and the score by Federico Jusid, whose official site lists the project as a 2001 drama and crime film.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [3](https://federicojusid.com/project/the-getaway/)\n\n**Co-production structure.** Production companies were Tesela Producciones Cinematograficas (Spain), RTVE, Canal+ España, Telefe S.A. (Argentina), and INCAA, the Argentine national film institute, with distribution by Wanda Visión.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) Variety credits Carlos L. Mentasti and Jose Antonio Felez as producers on a Telefe/Tesela PC production in association with TVE and Canal Plus.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) The pairing of a Spanish production house and broadcaster with an Argentine network and the state film body makes it a genuine two-country co-production rather than a purely domestic Argentine film.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/)\n\nMignogna came to the film as an established maker of melodrama: Variety identifies the Argentine director as best known for the award-winning *Autumn Sun* (1996) and *The Southern Lighthouse* (1998).[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/)\n\n## Cast and performances\n\nMiguel Angel Sola plays the narrator Laureano Irala. Ricardo Darin appears as the expressionless hard man Santalo, Gerardo Romano as the emotionally tortured Bordiola, and Norma Aleandro is also in the cast.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) Variety called the performances excellent, with standouts from Darin and Romano, and praised the period detail as spot on, noting the film's ochre and brown period tones.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film was reviewed at a Madrid screening room on 8 September 2001 as a competitor in the San Sebastian Film Festival.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) It opened commercially in Spain on 11 October 2001.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/)\n\nVariety's verdict was mixed: the film is well-crafted and entertaining, but the genre mixture makes it feel at times contrived and manipulative.[2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) Aggregated viewer opinion is likewise middling, with a GoodWatch score of 64 and an IMDb rating of 6.5.[5](https://goodwatch.app/movie/86154-the-escape)\n\n## By the numbers\n\nThe running time is reported differently by reference sources: Cineuropa and Variety both give 115 minutes, while AllMovie lists 117 minutes and the GoodWatch aggregator 1 hour 57 minutes, which is the same as 117 minutes.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [2](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/) • [4](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-escape-am200060) • [5](https://goodwatch.app/movie/86154-the-escape) AllMovie's release date of 24 May 2001 differs from Cineuropa's Spanish release date of 11 October 2001.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/) • [4](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-escape-am200060)\n\n## Availability and legacy\n\nGoodWatch reported that the film streamed in one country other than the United States and was unavailable in the United States.[5](https://goodwatch.app/movie/86154-the-escape) The same source records no sequels or prequels.[5](https://goodwatch.app/movie/86154-the-escape)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Escape (La Fuga), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/2014/)\n2. [The Escape, Variety review (2001)](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-escape-2-1200553260/)\n3. [The Getaway (La fuga), Federico Jusid official site](https://federicojusid.com/project/the-getaway/)\n4. [The Escape (2001), AllMovie](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-escape-am200060)\n5. [The Escape (2001): Where to Stream and Ratings, GoodWatch](https://goodwatch.app/movie/86154-the-escape)\n6. [The Escape (1997), Svensk Filmdatabas](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/item/?itemid=47091&type=film)\n7. [The Escape, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/escape)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2000–2004 films › Released 2000 to 2002*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-escape", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-escape.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Escape\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-escape. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Escape](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-escape)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-escape](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-escape). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Escape\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-escape. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Escape is the international title of La fuga, a 2001 Spain–Argentina crime drama by Eduardo Mignogna: seven inmates tunnel out of 1928 Buenos Aires penitentiary into a coal shop; San Sebastian competitor, 115 min, IMDb 6.5." }