Assignment 1: The 400 Blows

Take a moment to think about the film that we watched for our first screening. As a way of introducing your audience to your blog and its perspective, write about this film a little. What was your take on the film? How did you feel about it? Did you hate it? Love it? Were you bored? Feel free to say whatever you like about the film.

The 400 Blows (1959), directed by Truffaut, a film shot in black and white follows young adolescent Antione Dionel (Jean-Pierre) journey of self-worth and self-discovery. We get an in-depth look into the young Antione’s trials of growing up. From the very beginning of the film, Antione gets targeted for punishment by the adults in his life. Antoine rebels at every turn whether its the teacher, parents, or even the police. He does not feel a sense of belonging anywhere, so the natural instinct for this young trouble maker is to run away.

Running away a major element in this movie that begins the French New Wave. Instead of facing the consequences of the decisions this protagonist makes. Antoine’s first response is to deny, lie, and run away. This lifestyle eventually brings about the downfall of this young man when he is eventually put in a facility for juvenile boys. To say that was this was a coming of age story would not be too far off.

My interpretation of the movie is that I was very intrigued in the way it told this very unique story. I was actually interested and invested in the story of this young boy. The story itself is just so bleak and so hopeless that it makes the audience feel depressed after. The abrupt ending of this movie creates an ambiguity which made me as an audience member thinking of all the things this boy Antoine had gone through. I personally enjoyed watching this film. It was a story I had to really pay attention to because of the fact that it was in a foreign language, so I had to see read the subtitles and see what was going on at the same time.