Vote on this title
Click on a gene to vote or discover related titles.
-
Mood:
- ContemplativeStylizedCaptivatingAtmosphericBleakSentimentalThought Provoking
-
Plot:
- Life is a BitchMind and SoulSocietyYouthJuvenile DelinquencyParents and ChildrenDysfunctional FamilyInjustice more...
-
Genres:
- DramaForeignNew Wave
-
Time/Period:
- 20th Century50s
-
Place:
- EuropeFranceParisUrban
-
Praise:
- Award WinnerClassicCritically AcclaimedEssentialGroundbreakingMasterpiece
-
Attitudes:
- SeriousRealistic
-
Look:
- B&W
Does this gene fit The 400 Blows?
Find it on:
| IMDb | |
| Rotten Tomatoes |
The 400 Blows, 1959
French, English
France
Profile of The 400 Blows
The mood of The 400 Blows is contemplative, stylized, and captivating. The plot centers around themes of life is a bitch, youth, and society. It is a drama and foreign movie. Stylistically, The 400 Blows is New Wave. In approach, it is serious and realistic. It takes place, at least partly, in an urban environment. The 400 Blows is set in Paris. It happens in the 1950s. Visually, it is black and white. The 400 Blows is known for being groundbreaking, a classic, and a masterpiece.
Summary of The 400 Blows
Director François Truffaut's first feature film, The 400 Blows, is a landmark in French cinema. Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a 13-year-old boy who can't seem to do anything right. His parents yell at him and then bribe him for his love and his promises to work harder in school. Meanwhile, his schoolteacher is out to get him and blames Antoine for everything--turning him into the class clown. As a result, Antoine runs away from school and his difficult family, living on the streets of Paris and committing petty crimes. While his life on the street is tough, it's much better than dealing with his preoccupied parents and his accusatory teacher. Nonetheless, things only go downhill for Antoine, descending to a simultaneously painful and beautiful conclusion.
A truly impressive film, The 400 Blows is raw, honest, and intensely emotional. Imbued with a strong and complex personality, Antoine maintains his poise and self-confidence, even as he endures abusive treatment from every adult he encounters. René Simonet (Patrick Auffray) is Antoine's one pal, and the unspoken dialogues between the boys, depicted by Truffaut through the boys' facial expressions and with masterful roving photography, allow the viewer to see through Antoine's eyes and understand his unflinching tenacity. Few films have captured the difficulties of childhood as well as this acclaimed French masterpiece. Essentially the start of the French New Wave movement, The 400 Blows is also the beginning of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel cycle, which follows Léaud as Antoine in five additional films over the course of 20 years.
Details
| Language: | French, English |
| Country: | France |
| Release date: | 16 November 1959 |
| Runtime: | 99 min |
| Awards: | Cannes |
Awards
Cast and Crew
as Antoine Doinel
as Gilberte Doinel, the Mother
Photos
Clips
Users Reviews
- 21.September.2008
- |
- by: barak gilon
- barak gilon rated this movie7/10Good
