Features: DVD
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Francois Truffaut's first feature film, The 400 Blows, which established Truffaut's reputation and launched the series of "Antoine Doinel" films, Truffaut's on-screen alter-ego. Considered to be one of the most influential films of adolescence, The 400 Blows follows 13-year old Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud), as he turns to a life of small-time crime to escape the neglect he receives at home from his parents and the harsh criticism of his teacher. As young Antoine ventures out on his own, he discovers the freedom he longs for is not so easily attained.
"...realistic and totally unsentimental portrait of adolescence has never been matched in the cinema." Dictionary Of Films
"A small masterpiece... " The New York Times
Editor's Note
Director François Truffaut's first feature film, THE 400 BLOWS, is a landmark in French cinema. Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a 13-year-old boy who can't seem to do anything right. His parents yell at him and then bribe him for his love and his promises to work harder in school. Meanwhile, his schoolteacher is out to get him and blames Antoine for everything--turning him into the class clown. As a result, Antoine runs away from school and his difficult family, living on the streets of Paris and committing petty crimes. While his life on the street is tough, it's much better than dealing with his preoccupied parents and his accusatory teacher. Nonetheless, things only go downhill for Antoine, descending to a simultaneously painful and beautiful conclusion. A truly impressive film, THE 400 BLOWS is raw, honest, and intensely emotional. Imbued with a strong and complex personality, Antoine maintains his poise and self-confidence, even as he endures abusive treatment from every adult he encounters. René Simonet (Patrick Auffray) is Antoine's one pal, and the unspoken dialogues between the boys, depicted by Truffaut through the boys' facial expressions and with masterful roving photography, allow the viewer to see through Antoine's eyes and understand his unflinching tenacity. Few films have captured the difficulties of childhood as well as this acclaimed French masterpiece. Essentially the start of the French New Wave movement, THE 400 BLOWS is also the beginning of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel cycle, which follows Léaud as Antoine in five additional films over the course of 20 years.
Plot Summary
François Truffaut's semiautobiographical feature film debut, THE 400 BLOWS, is one of the French New Wave's most loved and enduring masterpieces. Thirteen-year-old Antoine Doinel tries to cope with the various forces tearing his life apart: his parents' contentious marriage (made worse by the confined space of their apartment), his own lack of interest in school, his desire to live like an adult and have pocket money, and his adolescent desire for freedom. Feeling unloved and unwanted at home, Doinel begins to rebel--only to lose what little he already had.
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