Overall Score
Rating Summary
The late 50’s and early 60’s was a fantastic time for French cinema. An artistic movement was starting in the country, one that would become a landmark in the history of film: the Nouvelle Vague. A handful of new directors and film critics were coming out of obscurity, going against the established narrative rules that used to dominate commercial films. They wanted to put the creative power back in the hands of the directors, it was the resurgence of the cinéma d’auteur. The magazine Cahiers du Cinema had an important part in establishing the movement, and directors like Goddard, Resnais and Chabrol and others, became legends of the era. François Truffaut was also part of the movement. A film critic, The 400 Blows was his first feature film. And it is incredible.
The 400 Blows follows the life of Antoine Doinel (Léaud), who became Truffaut’s alter ego through plenty of other films. Here, he is a 13-year old boy who is leaving his innocence behind. He doesn’t pay much attention at school; he’s willing to commit petty crimes to get into the theaters and his childish years are gone. He’s a teenage now, and things are turning different by the minute. Antoine’s life is not easy: he lives in a tiny apartment with his parents, who don’t seem to get along great. They fight a lot and it becomes pretty clear that they are only together because of him. His mother Gilberte (Maurier) especially doesn’t give him a second thought, she’s cold and distant towards him. Antoine is used to it, but there is a longing for love that is always around but unspoken. His father Julien (Rémy) is more sympathetic but also not overtly present.
Because of that, Antoine kind of does what he wants. He’s starting to rebel, so he’s cutting school and committing petty crimes. Just like Truffaut did, Antoine loves movies, and every chance he gets he finds a way to sneak into the theaters to watch something. Antoine is a reflection of Truffaut’s childhood, and it is impossible not to notice the love and warmth Truffaut imbued into the movie. Truffaut was the warmest and closest of the Nouvelle Vague’s directors, and The 400 Blows is the perfect example of that; it’s impossible not to be emotionally connected to Antoine, and the movie is so sweet and delicate from beginning to end. We end up caring deeply for the protagonist, and that is also because of the charismatic portrayal by the young Léaud, fantastic as the teenager.
Léaud manages to give Antoine the perfect balance of innocence and maturity; the lack of love in the household made him mature faster and going to school and living that controlled live doesn’t work for him anymore. But even so, he is still young, and he needs love and guidance deeply. Antoine is lost, and that is heartbreaking to watch.
The 400 Blows is such an extraordinary film, it’s almost impossible to believe it was the first movie Truffaut directed. Truly great.
*still courtesy of Janus Films*
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