Jean Vigo’s Zero de Conduite, produced in 1933 for just 200,000 francs, remains one of the most creative if unpolished examinations of life in a boys’ boarding school. It features a range of antics typical of young lads as well as an outright rebellion against despotic authority. The incipient anarchists among you will love it!

Historical Background: Although Jean Vigo died at just twenty-nine years of age (from tuberculosis) and completed just four rather short films, two of those films are widely admired and somewhat influential: L’Atalante and Zero de Conduite. His influence was felt by such later French directors as Renoir and Truffaut. Zero de Conduite was remade by Lindsay Anderson as If…. The big “if” in relation to Vigo is what he might have produced if he had lived a more nearly average lifespan. Although his works lack polish and cohesiveness, they exhibit a fierce independence of spirit, a rich poetic imagination, and a creative surrealistic expressiveness. Vigo was the son of a militant anarchist, Miguel Almareyda. After his father died in prison, Vigo grew up in French boarding schools, providing the experience that he drew upon for Zero de Conduite. For some reason that is hard to fathom from today’s vantage point, Zero de Conduite was banned in France as soon as it was released because of its perceived “anti-French” tone. While it certainly depicts a spirit of rebelliousness against irrational authority, it is a stretch to view it as an especially political statement. Nevertheless, authorities feared that the viewing public would be incited to civil disobedience!

The Story: The story revolves around boys at a French boarding school. The rules are strict and the adults harsh, petty, and arbitrary in their imposition of punishments. Transgressions result in a “zero for conduct” and Sunday detention. The food includes beans for supper every night. The adults are incompetent and uncaring except for one Chaplin-esque monitor, Huguet (Jean Dasté) who ignores the boys’ typically chaotic behavior and sometimes even joins with them. The Headmaster (Delphin) is a authoritarian midget who keeps his top hat under a bell jar on a mantle that he can barely reach. The boys are generally unruly and up to the full range of pranks typical of boys in a boarding school.

The rebelliousness takes a more determined turn, however, after one of the boys, Tabard (Gérard de Bédarieux), receives unwanted physical attention from a lecherous teacher and swears at the man. When the school authorities demand that the boy apologize publicly in front of the assembled staff and students, he instead repeats the same phrase. This gains him acceptance among the three principal “troublemakers” of the school, Caussat (Louis Lefebvre), Colin (Gilbert Pruchon), and Bruel (Coco Golstein). The foursome plans revenge, which consists of a massive pillow fight, hanging a flag of rebellion on the roof of the school, and raining tin cans and other debris down upon the school’s dignified alumni ceremony. The pillow fight is an especially classic scene, with feathers flying around like a blizzard. Vigo reduces the speed of the action down to slow-motion as the boys form into a parade and head off to the rooftop.

Themes: My take on the film’s theme is the indomitability of the human spirit in the face of tyrannical authoritarianism. There are times when anarchy is just the ticket! One such time is when rules are rigid and unreasonable and authorities oppressive.

Production Values: Vigo utilizes a style in Zero de Conduite that is an odd mix of realism and surrealism. The settings on the train and in the boarding school have a raw and gritty character typical of the Realism movement in film but there are surprising and clever elements of surrealism when a boy makes a ball disappear while entertaining his roommates or when a drawing comes alive and revises its own appearance. Vigo also makes use of a lot of shots from unusual angles.

The film is short of greatness in two main respects. First, the characters are never really developed in a manner that gives them any real identity – especially the four boys who serve as protagonists. At only forty-four minutes in length, well-drawn characters are perhaps unrealistic. Second, the narrative is sometimes unclear and often disjointed. To enjoy this film, you really have to suspend the effort to follow the story fully and just let the zaniness of it all wash over you.

Bottom-Line: Be warned that this film is definitely of the “art-film” variety and will have little appeal for those impatient with pre-1940’s technologic limitations. For those who have already enjoyed some films as L’Atalante (1934) or Nosferatu (1922), there’s likely to be enjoyment in Zero de Conduite as well. I recommend this film only for those with an established taste for early cinema. If not great, it certainly ranks as an influential film.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12