The 400 Blows
Antoine Doinel is a young boy growing up in Paris during the early 1950s. Misunderstood at home by his parents and tormented in school by his insensitive teacher, Antoine frequently runs away from both places. He decides to skip school and begins a downward spiral of lies and later stealing. His parents are at their wits end and after he';;s stopped by the police, they decide the best thing to do would be to let Antoine face the consequences. He';;s sent to a juvenile detention facility where he doesn';;t do much better.
12 February 1917, Coutainville, Manche, France
9 April 1915, Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France
3 September 1903, Tunis, French Protectorate Tunisia [now Tunisia]
27 March 1929, Ceret, France
5 November 1909, Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, Pas-de-Calais, France
October 29, 2015
Truffaut imbues the movie with the irrepressible energy and optimism of youth.
November 28, 2014
Francois Truffaut's debut film not only galvanized the Nouvelle Vague movement of French cinema, but he also generated a personal filmic idiom that he would elaborate on for the rest of his career.
September 27, 2007
Forget my curmudgeonly attitude and see it -- again, or for the first time -- for yourself.
July 06, 2010
Truffaut's ode to his childhood is an engrossing watch that is alluring in its simplicity and brilliant in its direction. It flows nicely at its own pace, never allowing melodrama to ruin its realistic and voyeuristic atmosphere.
July 09, 2007
Distinguished by its intensity of feeling and freewheeling use of the wide-screen frame, the film ranks among Truffaut's best.
February 01, 2008
Seems forever young.
July 09, 2007
An engaging, moving film.
September 27, 2007
A remarkable confluence of talents are at work here.
July 31, 2015
Childhood's frustrations for Truffaut are never far from its lilting delights
June 07, 2010
Truffaut brought a fresh and piercingly honest portrayal of troubled youth to the screen. In many ways, Antonie Doinel is not only the cinematic embodiment of Truffaut, but also the French New Wave as a whole.
April 09, 2009
One of the first glistening droplets of the French New Wave.
April 21, 2014
A rich and fascinating look at youth and its fleeting joys...
