- Between watching Au Revoir Les Enfants last week and The 400 Blows this week, I'm beginning to suspect that growing up in France wasn't as idyllic as I had previously imagined. While the German soldiers in Malle's film were plenty frightening, in some ways the characters who antagonize young Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) in The 400 Blows are even scarier. That's because they're seemingly normal people, like Antoine's parents (Claire Maurier and Albert Rémy) and schoolteachers (Guy Decomble and Pierre Repp). They may not be as identifiably villainous as uniformed Nazis, but when you're a child and they're in charge, everyday life is truly intimidating.
- That's especially true for Antoine, who is one of those poor kids who just can't seem to catch any breaks. He's not a bad person by any stretch, but he's obviously bored by school and tends to stave off that boredom by misbehaving or playing hooky with his close friend René (Patrick Auffay). You can hardly blame him, either, considering that teachers like Mr. "Sourpuss" (Decomble) have students recite romantic poetry as though it were a chemistry formula. And when Antoine does finally fall in love with the writings of Balzac, the results are a house fire and accusations of plagiarism. With an education like this, who wouldn't rather take the day off to catch a film matinee or ride on a carnival rotor?
- Antoine's home life isn't much better. His parents aren't exactly abusive, but they certainly don't pay enough attention to their son. Father just jokes around when he's not at work, and mother would obviously prefer to spend her time elsewhere (which is exactly what Antoine spots her doing one afternoon). They make Antoine take out the trash and sleep in a sleeping bag, but there's never a hint of gratitude, apology, or concern. Most nights, their arguments overheard through the walls remind Antoine that his is not a a happy family. Eventually, his troubles at school convince him to run away from home. When a small-time typewriter theft goes wrong, it's Antoine who gets left holding the bag. For him, juvenile detention is just the latest in a series of prisons he's been trapped in his entire life.
- No doubt because The 400 Blows is a partially autobiographical account of director Francois Truffaut's own childhood, the film is absolutely unflinching in its realism. A less thoughtful work might have allowed its authority figures to be complete monsters, but this one grants them all a few redemptive features. Antoine's parents, for example, are negligent and uncaring, but don't forget that the family has a lot of fun when it finally takes a night on the town. His teachers are petty and harsh, to be sure, but they also show great concern when Antoine claims his mother has died. Overall, the film can be summarized well by its opening and closing shots. One shows what the Eiffel tower looks like from the ground. The other shows a young boy finally reaching the ocean. His fate is uncertain, but for him uncertainty is far better and more exciting than everything that has come before.
- This was Truffaut's first film...made at age 27!
