The 400 Blows-1959
Director Francois Truffaut
Starring Jean-Pierre Léaud
Scott’s Review #88
Reviewed July 2, 2014
Grade: A
The 400 Blows is a French New Wave masterpiece from 1959, heartbreaking yet beautiful in its storytelling.
It tells the story of Antoine, a kindhearted yet hardened teen forced to live a tough life on the streets of Paris.
It is autobiographical as director Francois Truffaut suffered a childhood similar to that of the boy.
Misunderstood and mistreated by his parents and schoolteachers, Antoine must survive and thrive as a teenage runaway who cannot get a break in life.
Shot in Paris and featuring gorgeous cityscapes, the black-and-white cinematography adds to the bleakness and coldness of this young boy’s life. Truffaut was the first to use the familiar still-frame close-up of angst. The scenes of Antoine running from the city along the beach are some of the most beautiful in film history.
Truffaut influenced a generation of directors with his very personal brand of storytelling.
The 400 Blows (1959) is not always a pleasant film, but an important and influential work of art cinema.
Young actor Jean-Pierre Leaud gives an excellent performance.
Oscar Nominations: Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
