Les Quatre Cents Coups [The 400 Blows] (4 May 1959)
directed by François Truffaut
starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Guy Decomble, Georges Flamant, Patrick Auffay
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Studio: Les Films du Carrosse, Sédif Productions Script: Marcel Moussy, François Truffaut Music: Jean Constantin Running time: 99 minutes Tags: adolescense; Black & White; coming-of-age; Drama; Foreign Film; jails; Paris; schools; theft; tobacco use Tactical strength: [10/10]
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Every once in a while, you watch a movie that sticks in your head. For days after you watch the movie, scenes spontaneously replay almost without provocation. It's like when you get a song stuck in your head, but in this case scenes from the movie get stuck instead. Every time I watch François Truffaut's Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows), I have scenes of the main character Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) running through my head for days.
The 400 Blows really has a simple plot. Thirteen-year-old Antoine lives with his parents, but they both work and Antoine spends much of his time alone. He doesn't take school too seriously, and frequently nips cash from his parents to spend on after-school activities. Like most adolescents, he occasionally lies to his parents and teachers when it seems convenient. Antoine clearly likes the attention he gets from his parents, and using today's psychological terms, we might say he acts out in order to get attention. During the course of the film, we learn some of the details that have molded Antoine. He hears his parents argue and finds out that his mother (Claire Maurier) was already pregnant when she met and married Julien (Albert Rémy). Antoine also knows that his mother considered having an abortion, and that she has an ongoing affair with a man from her work. We learn later that Antoine's grandmother raised him until sometime around his eighth birthady when he finally went to live with his mother and stepfather.
The name "Les Quatre Cents Coups" translates roughly as "to raise hell." In spite of all the bad things Antoine tries, they never really serve him well. He tries to steal a typewriter, finds he cannot pawn it, and gets caught trying to return the typewriter. The theft lands Antoine in a home for juvenile delinquents. He seems to not mind living there until visiting day. His friend René tries to visit and bring gifts, but the guard doesn't let René in. On the same day, his mother comes to visit, and she basically tells Antoine "good riddance." At this point, Antoine runs away and makes his way to the ocean. Earlier in the film, Antoine says that he has never seen the ocean, so the ocean represents moving on to something new -- a new phase of his life without his parents.
All of these details help build a picture of Antoine's character, but Truffaut's amazing film creates an austere tone that reflects Antoine's desire for affection and acceptance. Jean-Pierre Léaud plays Antoine with powerful sincerity, and the DVD commentary notes that Léaud actually ran away from a boarding school and traveled to Paris on his own in order to audition for the film. Antoine tries to put on a tough face. Although we never see him cry outright, we do see one tear run down his face as the police wagon filled with thieves and prostitutes takes him away from the local lock-up. Simple images like this show Truffaut genius. Truffeau doesn't stoop to sentimentality or to manipulation. He doesn't complicate his story with too much detail, and he follows Antoine through this life-changing week of his life in almost a documentary fashion. In today's cinema, we would almost expect Antoine to go into a rage or take a gun to school for target practice. By not going over the top, Truffaut's keeps Antoine's character in the real world where we can share Antoine's emotions rather than look down on them.
