This movie, The 4oo Blows, is the first film directed by Francois Truffaut. It was the start of French New Wave Cinema. The movie is somewhat autobiographical. It deals with a French youth, Antoine Doinel, (Jean-Pierre Leaud). The actor, answered a newspaper ad for the role. He won out over intense competition. Leaud gives quite a performance. Antoine Doinel is neglected at home, and this causes him to drift to juvenile delinquency. This life was experienced by the director.
Truffaut manages to give the feel of the film, with his camera. He opens the film, with close shots of Paris. This gives a confining feel. Then he shows the streets from the rear of a car. He shows the contrasts of Antoine Doinel’s life, with that of happy children. Doinel, comes upon a puppet play of Little Red Riding Hood. The children have various expressions, some laughing, some smiling, and some shocked or scared. This bit of fun is something lacking in Antoine’s life. He skips school, and goes to a carnival. It is here he gets on a ride, that pins the riders with centrifugal force. Truffaut in a terrific display of light and sound, creates a great scene. The adults on the ride, stay calm. Doinel, tries to fight the force; turning upside down, at one point. It shows his life not being a normal one. It is rather Doinel fighting against societal restraints.
The movie shows Antoine Doinel’s life experiences. It goes from his school life, to being in jail. There are many boys who have a hard time with school. Antoine’s go beyond that. He has a teacher, who doesn’t believe in being kind and gentle. He instills fear and deep dislike in his pupils. He gives his students an assignment. They are to write about a personal life experience. Antoine writes about the death of his grandfather. His description of witnessing his grandfather’s final moments, are not his words. They are those of his literary idol, DeBalzac. He loves the author so much, that he has a shrine, in his home. His teacher gives him an F, and says he is nothing but a plagiarist. This gets him thrown out of the class for a while. This upsets his parents. They give him very little love or attention. He cuts school one day, but doesn’t have a written excuse for his absence. He is asked by the principle why he was absent. He tells the worst lie. He says his mother died. This only drives a wedge between his parents and him. His lack of parental love, sets him on the path to stealing. He gets caught stealing a typewriter. His father, frustrated and humiliated by this, turns the boy over to the police. It is Truffaut, who shows the shock and shame of imprisonment. Antoine is sharing a cell with another man, briefly. Prostitutes have been brought in. They are put in the large cell. Antoine is placed in a cage, the size of a small closet. It shows that the authorities have more respect for ladies of the evening than they o for Antoine. His father and mother, decide it is best for all involved; to have him sent to a prison for bad youth. This smashes for the moment, Antoine’s freedom. He later makes a dash for freedom, in another shinning moment for Francois Truffaut.
The 400 Blows, is the opposite of any feel good movie about childhood. The audience may hope for something positive to come out of the movie. It does not, like the happy Disney films of the period, do that. There is only the desperation of Antoine, stealing food, after leaving home. This is particularly hard hitting, because it is during the Christmas holidays. The main reason that Antoine’s life takes a bad turn, is because of parental neglect and selfishness. Antoine’s friends also don’t help him walk the straight and narrow. His good friend convinces him to steal the typewriter, and sell it. This film should be seen, not for the story. It should be seen for Francois Truffaut skills as a director.