Influential opera prima

Truffaut pours his heart and soul into this project, one of his best known jobs, his seminal The 400 Blows, a semi-autobiographic account of his school days in Paris.

The film is a bitter reminder, if also pessimistic, of the awkward divide between the rule of adulthood and the often misunderstood adolescence.

The film follows the life of Antoine Daniel (Leaud) and his struggle with life, his stints at petty crime and general misdemeanour. Adults excel in annihilating any hope of individualism and affirmation while reasons for such behaviour often seem capricious and hypocritical. Adults seem to make the rules as they go, often just because they can. And there is little time spent in empathising and trying to understand the young man, quickly becoming one of them. And surprisingly now rebelling, making his own decisions, not often the right ones but nevertheless those that propels him through the quest for re-affirming freedom.

Truffaut walks the walk away from sentimentalism, emotionally detached from his alter ego. The film is crude and natural, simple in his approach, without clinical manipulation. Paris is sombre and squalid but also vibrant and full of life, a megalopolis buzzing with life.

Jean-Pierre Leaud delivers a superb and credible performance in the skin of Antoine. The role of Antoine is full of a dignified stoicism as he endures the incomprehension from above and the punishment for his ill-conceived actions while coming to terms with his ever-growing angst and sense of misplacement. Despite his mischief it is hard not to sympathise with him and bow to his determination.

Truffaut’s ability to capture the beauty of the city despite the dim streets and the hustle adds a welcome extra dimension to this feature.