Jacques Becker (1906-1960) was an influential French director, student, and assistant to Jean Renoir. His career spanned various genres and was distinguished by a marked realism and an almost documentary-like attention to detail in settings and trades. Becker often explored closed worlds and their codes of honor, showing human psychology and dynamics with authenticity.

Among his most famous films are the romantic drama *Casque d'Or* (1952) with Simone Signoret, the classic noir *Touchez Pas au Grisbi* (1954), which relaunched Jean Gabin's career, and his final masterpiece, *Le Trou* (1960). The latter, an intense and claustrophobic tale of prison escape, is emblematic of his dry and meticulous style.