The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows is a 1959 French film directed by Francois Truffaut, his first of many. It is the story of young Antoine Doinel (left, Jean-Pierre Leaud), a teenager in Paris, who is constantly getting in trouble. At first, Antoine is only getting into minor bits of trouble, such as getting caught with a pin-up in class. But it seems like the boy is sprinting towards a life of crime, as his transgressions escalate and become more and more serious. His mother and stepfather don't help matters: his mother is a selfish sexpot who finds Antoine to be a bother who "annoys" her. Antoine's stepfather, while friendly to the boy, is not especially loving to him. Both adults are quite absent from the young boy's life. And Antoine's teachers are indisputibly less than nurturing and caring, although when a teacher is under a (false) impression that Antoine's mother has died, he begins to treat the boy with more tenderness.

Although this is a mostly sad and serious movie that explores hard topics to approach, there are some happier, redeeming moments. The one that pops out in my head is after Antoine has accidentally set fire to his shrine to one of his favorite author's. His stepfather and mother are yelling and then they suddenly decide to go out to the movies. It was a slightly redeeming point of the movie, and nice to see that his parents weren't completely oblivious to their son. Some of the lines were hilarious, too.

I didn't like any adults in this movie, but I suppose that was the point. The adults are "evil", turning Antoine into a juvenile delinquent by treating him like one before he reached that turning point. I really felt for the boy the whole time. The actor really broke out of the typical "rebel without a cause" stereotype, while still making him a believable juvenile delinquent. Antoine was quiet and obedient, but he also wasn't afraid to act up once in a while, making the character truly complicated, something that I really respect the young actor who portrayed him for. The scene where he is being carted away in a jail car with the usual criminals and crying was particularly moving.

I enjoyed this movie far more than the one we watched before this. I don't know how much more I would watch this film, once seems enough because of it's serious tone, but I would definitely recommend it to others.

On a last note, I was mentally preparing myself for the final scene, but it still freaked me out because his face came at me really fast.