Here’s another instance where I feel that I need to explain BOTH why this is a great film and why it is NOT as great as it is widely claimed to be. I’ll reserve my major criticism for later, in the “Assessment” section below, and begin with the positives and some basic background. Truffaut’s The 400 Blows is a truly unique coming-of-age film. It is intensely personal – no surprise, given that it is substantially autobiographical. In comparison with other coming of age films, it is less melodramatic and more nostalgic.

The Story: The story concerns one Antoine Doinel, Truffaut’s cinematic altar-ego, a clever boy growing up in Paris. When we first encounter him, he is age 13, living with his mother (Claire Maurier) and his stepfather (Albert Remy) in a crowded flat. His parents are Parisians struggling to eek out a living. His mother is a blond, dresses fashionably, and is cheating on her husband via an affair with a co-worker. She is somewhat bitter and has precious little patience for Antoine. She spends as much time out of the apartment as possible. Antoine’s stepfather is not a bad fellow. He is typically easy-going and treats Antoine well enough though without any evident attachment. Sometimes he is grumpy, like the rest of us. His main hobby is going to the racetrack

Antoine has an affinity for trouble. He gets caught with a pinup calendar that is being passed around the class from boy to boy and is made to stand in the corner. Rather than simply weathering his punishment, he writes a self-pitying poem on the wall “Here suffers poor Antoine Doinel, unjustly punished for a pinup that fell from heaven.” In another instance, he is interrupted while doing homework and is unable to complete it. Once again, he exacerbates his problem by skipping school, rather than showing up without his assignment. Later, he tries to explain his absence and gain sympathy to boot by saying that his mother died. When this proves false, he is identified as a liar.

Antoine has a taste for the great French author Balzac and has constructed a shrine to Balzac in his room. Clearly, this is not a boy without some talent or serious interests. He is assigned an essay to write and includes words paraphrased from Balzac. His teacher accuses him of plagiarism. Antoine, feeling put upon, determines to run away from home once and for all. To finance his hoped-for independence, he hits on the idea of stealing a typewriter from his stepfather’s place of work. Later, he relents but gets caught trying to return the stolen item. He is arrested and his parents, at the end of their patience with him, cut him loose and leave him in the care of the social services, saying “If he came home, he would only run away again.”

Antoine is booked at the police station. He seems to be heading relentlessly toward a career of crime. He is placed in a holding cell and later put in a police wagon with prostitutes and thieves, in which he is driven through the dark streets of Paris at night. As he peers forlornly through the bars, violins weep mournfully in the background. He is delivered to a juvenile detention facility, which is like a boarding school run in a very strict manner. After a while, he runs away and makes his way to the sea, which he has never before seen. The film now ends in a famous freeze frame with Antoine implicitly having arrived at a crucial juncture between his past and his future.

Assessment: Regardless of how one reacts personally to this film, there is no denying its profound historical significance . Truffaut (1932-1974) was himself the unwanted product of an affair of his mother. He was sent, early in life, to live with his grandmother, where he found happiness, but she died when he was just ten. He then returned to live with his mother and stepfather and, like Antoine, began to descend into delinquency. Cinema became his only solace. He was caught stealing a typewriter and sent to live in a home for juvenile delinquents. After reform school, Truffaut became a film critic under the tutelage of André Bazin, writing for Bazin’s “Cahiers du Cinéma.” He made his first film just before turning age 27 and then produced a total of twenty-one full-length features in his short life. He was an integral part of the French New Wave that marked a kind of transition between classic cinema and modern cinema. He and the other directors of this group, including Godard, Chabrol, and Rohmer, impacted cinema worldwide. The 400 Blows was one of the seminal films of the New Wave movement, which advocated taking bold chances and emphasis on films with a strong personal focus. Truffaut dedicated The 400 Blows to André Bazin, who Truffaut credited with helped to set him on the right path in life. Truffaut returned to the character of Antoine Doinel over and over again, beginning with a short film entitled Antoine and Collette (1962), followed by three full features: Stolen Kisses (1968), Bed and Board (1970), and Love on the Run (1979).

Other Positives: Truffaut’s narrative technique is clearly masterful. As just one example, one might take a scene in which Antoine and his classmates are shown attending a puppet show. While most of the children watch gleefully, Antoine is scheming with a friend about how to get hold of some money. In this subtle way, Truffaut illustrates that Antoine has already lost the innocent joy of childhood.

Truffaut does a splendid job balancing the sometimes depressing aspects of the story with scenes of joy or humor. In one scene, for example, we see the gym teacher out with students for a jog through the streets of Paris. As they go, the students begin to peel off in two or threes, unbeknownst to the teacher, until only two or three remain with him. Another pleasant scene occurs after Antoine accidentally sets fire to his Balzac shrine, almost burning down his family’s apartment. On this occasion, his parents decide to shrug off the near-catastrophe and to be supportive. Antoine is taken to the movies and bought an ice cream on the way home.

The cinematography in this film is very effective. It is in black-and-white and was one of the first films produced in France for wide-screen. The final segment of the film is especially famous. It is a classic zoom-in that leads to a freeze frame. It has been said that the entire foregoing film is designed to lead up to that one shot of suspended animation. It represents a pivotal moment of decision for Antoine, where the future lies separated from the past. Although this ending technique was not invented by Truffaut, this is the film that made it famous.

Jean-Pierre Léaud proved to be perfect for the role of Antoine. Obviously the entire success of the film hinges on his performance. Léaud was himself a troubled child with a history of delinquency. As a result, his performance has the natural, unforced feel that can only come from true empathy with a role. He sometimes hardly seems to be acting. One scene stands out as near perfection in Léaud’s performance. He is being interviewed by a psychologist, who is not seen, and Antoine looks directly into the camera as he fidgets and gives his answers with a solemn detachment that is fully believable. Overall, it is a convincing performance that wins the viewer’s sympathy.

I’ve included The 400 Blows in my list of Coming-of-age – Outside the USA! It is also #169 on the Internet Database list of most popular films, which makes it #20 among foreign films on that list.

Negatives: My problem with this film is its oppressive self-indulgent and self-pitying tone. Most autobiographical or semi-autobiographical films suffer from self-indulgence. Fellini’s 8 1/2 springs to mind as another ugly example. Self-centeredness follows directly from the philosophy of the French New Wave. It subscribed to what became known as “auteur theory”, that views the director as the true author of a film, not the studio, screenwriter, or stars. It’s a very minor extension from that philosophy to viewing the director as also the subject matter of the film. It seems to me that the healthier and more constructive view is that films are created by teamwork in which each participant plays a significant role.

Still, I would accept autobiographical subject matter if it weren’t also so pathetically self-pitying. It amazes me that so many critics totally buy into the notion of Antoine as victim. Consider some of these comments from national critics. Antoine’s parents "judge him by appearances and by the reports of others who misunderstand him." Antoine was not misunderstood. He was caught with forbidden material, he wrote on the wall, he lied, he stole a typewriter, he skipped school. Antoine’s parents responded to the reality of reports they were receiving as would any good parent.

How about these comments? "His luck is not good"; "he is unlucky"; he was "typecast by his teacher"; "his homework was interrupted"; "he’s the one who gets caught and punished"; "Antoine’s school infractions are minor. It’s just that the authority figures see them in the worst possible light." Hey, man. Bad stuff happens. Suck it up! All you have to do to turn those kind of things around is put in some effort to ensure some successes that will start to change people’s opinions. But no, all of the sentimental critics buy into Truffaut’s denial of responsibility. "His mother gave birth to Antoine after an unwanted pregnancy"; "he is a victim of his circumstances"; "no matter what he does to placate the adults in his life, he gets into trouble." Hogwash! Antoine was just feeling sorry for himself and didn’t have the sense or maturity to understand that he had it within his power to shape how others viewed him.

This comment is particularly galling: Antoine was “caught not when he steals it but when he foolishly tries to return it.” What was foolish was that he stole it, not that he returned it. When one commits a crime, one has to assume responsibility for it. It cannot be simply undone. It’s appalling that a critic would actually argue that doing the right thing, however belatedly, is foolish. One could make a case that the firm treatment that Antoine (i.e., Truffaut) experienced in response to his repeated problem behavior may have provided just the warning that he needed to make the smart decision about the direction he would go with his life.

One critic states that The 400 Blows takes a non-judgmental approach to the life of Antoine. Another argues that is “does not invite false emotions and insincere pity.” Quite the contrary. Truffaut stirs false emotions of undue pity for Antoine’s situation, when it is largely brought about by his own actions. The film invites denial of personal responsibility and most critics are falling for it hook, line, and sinker. A director wallowing in self-pity over a child-hood forged first and foremost by his own misdeeds is really not all that touching.

Bottom-Line: Truffaut obviously possessed a deep love for moviemaking, not to mention a tremendous personal investment in this particular story – his story. This film warrants utmost respect for its place in history as well as the skill with which the narrative is delivered. It only suffers from an overabundance of self-pity and inability to understand personal responsibility. The DVD version includes a bonus 18-minute short by Truffaut entitled Les Mistons, the theatrical trailer for the film, and trailers for other Truffaut films.

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older