Review of 400 Blows

In the film that started the French New Wave, Francios Truffaut presents his autobiographical film the 400 Blows. It is a film about his childhood; his struggles at school, his troubled home life, but, there are moments of light-heartedness throughout. The film follows the young Jean pierre Leaud around Paris. He gets into trouble at school. More by circumstance then intention, he suffers at the hand of the head teacher. He hides his troubles at school from his parents. Gradually things get worse and he skips school, lies about it, gets into more trouble, and is, finally, arrested and sent away to a discplinary "observation camp." The film ends with the young boy reaching the ocean for the first time. The ending does not give closure. Has he escaped? Found peace or meaning? We are left to speculate about the future of the lost boy.

Clearly this film depicts Truffaut troubled life as a youth in a working class home in Paris. The family struggles with money, employment, marital problems, and finding some way to eek out a living or grasp a sense of hope or advancement in French society. In what is traditionally the stepping stones to advancement, school, each member of the family has struggled. The step-father never made it through high school, the mother never made it to college, and the young boy struggles to get through grade school.

Despite of these struggles and failures, the family derives great joy from going to the movies. The movies, Truffaut has said, saved his life many times and became his life's work. The film is shot in a realist style. It is typical of French New Wave films because of it's emphasis on Realism and it's obviously low budget.

There are definate antecedents in 400 Blows with Rosselini's War Trilogy. Its not just because they are both shot in black and white. There are both shot in a realist style. The acting is based on real characters. But, unlike Rosselini's work, Truffaut's 400 Blows is a distinctly auteur film. It is based on his life. It has his distinct influence over the whole movie.

This film was an astounding success at the Cannes Film Festival when it debuted. To this day it is entertaining to see a depiction of a French film director's journey from troublemake to filmmaker.