400 Blows (1959) - Truffaut

 

I finally saw 400 Blows by Truffaut after years on my watch-list. The film figures frequently in lists of best films made and has been rated highly by directors like Kurosawa and Satyajit Ray.

Antoine is a rebellious boy who unable  to resist small temptations that come the way of school-boys. He engages in petty misdemeanors like stealing small sums of money from his grandma, cutting school to watch movies, petty theft and so on. The small crises snowball into large ones on account of mishandling by his parents and inept teachers. There isn't a lot of spite in Antoine, and he means no harm and he is unable to confide in his parents who are neglectful of him. His only confidant is his friend, who is supportive and a partner in some of his mishaps.

The first half of the film is quite claustrophobic with scenes of squalor and poor living conditions in which Antoine lives. His mother is harsh and mean to him. His father is kinder, but unable to understand Antoine. The streets of Paris provide a backdrop. There are scenes at all times of the day and night and there is a sense of unrelenting harshness of the environment. Moments of escape are provided by visits to the cinema (an autobiographical detail). There is a memorable scene of children watching a puppet show. 

Antoine is sent to juvenile prison out in the countryside and ironically, free of the visuals of his parents and the streets of Paris, there is a sense of liberation for the viewer if not for Antoine. Towards the end, there is a very short interview of Antoine by the prison psychologist in which he reveals his inner world. Antoine reveals that he was born out of wedlock and is unaware of his biological father, another autobiographical detail. His grandma looked after him and only when she passed away did he begin to live with his mother. Antoine is unable to feel any love from his parents and concludes that it is best to keep his thoughts to himself. Through all these tribulations, Antoine never loses his spirit and it is his spirit that forms the unsentimental spine of the film. The film concludes with Antoine breaking out of prison. There is a masterful long passage of Antoine running as he settles into a rhythm as though he has reached some sort of peaceful state of mind. I think this sequence has been copied a few times in other films. For me, it was evocative of Alan Sillitoe's Loneliness of the long-distance runner, which was written in the same year. The film ends with a visual of Antoine on the beach.