Executscan Expected more

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

ElMaruecan82 In the 50's, François Truffaut worked as a critic with a rather defiant and resentful attitude toward traditional "popular" filmmaking. Yet even old-school directors like Cocteau or Clouzot said they never experienced such intensity on the big screen after they saw "The 400 Blows". Truffaut dared to challenge reciprocity and got unanimous praises from his peers and beyond, acknowledging the historical magnitude of the film, maybe the French "Citizen Kane".I guess there's just something about movies made by young directors; Truffaut was only one year older than Welles when he made his directorial debut, young enough to remember the most ungrateful part of boys' lives when they are old enough to take it seriously but too young to be taken seriously. Truffaut embraced the innate freedom of his age and never regarded childhood with nostalgic eyes, deeming it as a period of entrapment and submission to the rules of adults. Interestingly, Truffaut adopted the same rebellious approach to film-making, rejecting cinematic conventions of a plot, protagonists and villains for something that would tunnel the viewers into the truth of life rather than providing an escape from it.The French New Wave was a tsunami of creation that changed the face of cinema. Just like Jean-Luc Godard with "Breathless", a new generation of film-makers would explore cinema as a form of expression prone to improvisation, a freedom of tone, anything but codified tropes, it was Godard who said that the best way to criticize a film is to make one, that's to their credit. But unlike Godard, I doubt Truffaut made this film for the sake of challenging conventions or to make something "pivotal". And for one thing, I happen to share Jean-Pierre Melville's feeling that the New Wave had a huge influence on American Cinema, but the auteur thing was a bit overplayed in France, and the magic was lost in the 60's.So I'm not interested in 'auteur' Truffaut but 'rebel' Truffaut, his youth was exactly the same as his counterpart in the film Antoine Doinel: school troubles, delinquency, absent parents etc. Cinema wasn't just a vocation; it was a survival move, an escape from the path that was awaiting him, a rebellion within the rebellion. There's something in Doinel that reminded me of "Cool Hand Luke", a propensity for 'leaving', the classroom, the place, it's not just rebellion, but like the title suggests: "raising hell", which is the real meaning of "400 blows" but the word "blows" might render the idea that the kid is going to take many hits in his life, which is actually less misleading than the French title, sounding more like childish fun.And Antoine Doinel takes the hits and keeps moving forward, it's not "Rocky" though, Doinel has no specific goal, he lives from day to day, he doesn't think of the consequences, which is the essence of youth ennui. "The 400 Blows" happens to be an immersive character study in the life of a boy who's abandoned by his parents, his mother spending many extra-hours with her boss, and her father who's not the brutal type, has given him a name and a roof, but not what Antoine truly needed: a guidance, a meaning, anything. Antoine comes home eats, takes the trash down and goes to sleep. And the awful state of the house plays almost as an alibi for Doinel's mischievousness.But Truffaut's directing never needs to be intrusive to make us root for Antoine. We just see his background and get it. It is very fitting that, of all the "Simpsons" characters, it was Nelson Muntz who paid tribute to the movie as he was a character whose sordid background was unveiled in the later seasons and is perhaps the closest to Doinel. Doinel isn't even a bully though, and at the first scene, he's the unlucky kid who picks up the sexy calendar just when the teacher raises his eyes. The tragedy of Doinel is that before taking the path leading to delinquency and (who knows) crime, he's just a kid who doesn't care enough about his life to contemplate the idea of becoming a bad boy.The only escapism he finds is with his friend (Pierre Auffray), a fun moment at a zoetrope (a wink to "Strangers on a Train" and Truffaut's idol Hitchcock) and movie theaters, were Doinel drops the picture of Harriet Andersen from Bergman's "Monica", cinema was an escapism for Truffaut as well and the builder of his dreams. The film is a slow escalation to the point where the parents finally give up and put Doinel in a detention center less out of anger than disillusion, because he would escape anyway. Once again, Truffaut never shows the parents as the bad guys, even the kid doesn't blame them, yet we know he's hurt, deeply.Truffaut loved Doinel but was so worried he would grow up during the making, Leaud's answer was that both he and Truffaut had sickly souls, they would never grow up. Truffaut loved the answer and it sealed their collaboration, I wasn't a bit surprised that some scenes involving Leaud were improvised, this is not the improvisation for-the-sake-of-it like Godard would use to show off his revolutionary talent, it's improvisation to capture the truth of the moment, and this is perhaps the best compliment I can give the film, it is truthful, and that final shot is the perfect culmination of a story where you dare to dream of a happy ending but the word "Fin" seems like bars of a prison entrapping poor Antoine.The film is dedicated to Andre Bazin, a former critic, co-founder of Cahiers du Cinema who died in 1958. "The 400 Blows" is the pivotal encounter between a message, a feeling and a young talent, at the right time and the right place. To label it as New Wave starter is too reducing, especially since the film is deeper and more penetrative than Godard's "Breathless".

Takethispunch a young boy growing up in Paris during the 1950s. Misunderstood at home by his parents for wagging school and stealing things and tormented in school for discipline problems by his teacher (Guy Decomble) (Antoine falsely explains his being away from school was due to his mother's death), Antoine frequently runs away from both places. The boy finally quits school after being caught plagiarizing Balzac by his teacher. He steals a typewriter from his stepfather's (Albert Remy) work place to finance his plans to leave home, but is apprehended while trying to return it.Antoine Doinel in the final scene The stepfather turns Antoine over to the police and Antoine spends the night in jail, sharing a cell with prostitutes and thieves. During an interview with the judge, Antoine's mother confesses that her husband is not Antoine's biological father. Antoine is placed in an observation center for troubled youths near the seashore (as per his mother's wishes). A psychologist at the center probes reasons for Antoine's unhappiness, which the youth reveals in a fragmented series of monologues.

Daniil Artamonov Through this film, I got an idea of the beautiful old French town and of the life that children lived mid-20th century. How many psychological problems evident in this canvas ... Looking at it I realize how many create one psychologist and psychiatrist profession for half a century ... I'm sure we lucky to be born in the current years, and our children are lucky more, and even more grandchildren. Let's think about what role can play this pattern, if it is to watch most of the people of the future: - For a positive effect, it is necessary to show in the ripened age, then people will be able to sympathize with the previous generations ... - It can be seen in the infinite power of the unconscious and desire for freedom ... - Our desire to deeply pledged to go beyond and take the life under our cap.

Prismark10 The title of the film is The 400 Blows but its actually an expression for 'Raising Hell.'Made in 1959 in a cinema verite style. This is the full screen debut of Francois Truffaut and an example of the French New Wave. It was a critical hit.Jean-Pierre Leaud plays Antoine Doinel, a misunderstood teenager in Paris who constantly gets into trouble at school and an at home. Doinel is based partly on Truffaut himself.Doinel finds school boring, does not get on with his teachers who usually catch him telling lies including an embarrassing one where in a panic he tells that one of his parent has died. At home he is alone a lot as both parents are working. His glamorous mother (Claire Maurier) seems to have little time for him. He gets on better with his father (Albert Remy) who is more playful but as the film progresses, he is actually the step-father and you also learn that his mother is having an affair. Doinel wants love but his step- father seems too weak (he suspects his wife is cheating) his mother too busy but he seems happiest when she does give him attention such as towelling him down after a bath.Doinel and his best friend Rene get into all sorts of scrapes and petty crime. Several times Doinel runs away from home and sleeps rough. He gets caught stealing a typewriter from his stepfather's workplace and comes into the attention of the police, social services and the judiciary. At the end he is sent to a young offender's institute that he also runs away from and onto a beach to what looks like an uncertain future.However Truffaut would re-visit Doinel over the course of his directing career.Watching this film it becomes apparent how much this influenced the British New Wave in the 1960s. So much of this film reminded me of Kes by Ken Loach with its naturalistic acting styles. Just look at the mischievous scene where the sports teacher takes the class for a walk around the streets of Paris and the kids disappear few at a time. Then there is the very naturalistic scene at the Punch & Judy show where the much younger kids are enjoying themselves. The city is a playground but when Doinel is living rough it is also oppressive and scary.Of course as time has gone on the shock value of the out of control adolescent has been lost with newer, more franker films. The French New Wave also had a different way of telling stories in the cinema that someone like me brought up on a diet of junk Hollywood blockbusters might not always appreciate. The film can be a little too wayward and loose.However the final freeze frame of a boy fulfilling his dream of seeing the sea but still alone and lost is regarded as a classic. Apparently this is the first time a film ends in a freeze frame.