In this coming of age film by Francois Truffaut a new meaning of the phrase “it takes a village” is displayed as we follow a 12 year old boy whom first got placed with a wet nurse only to be given to his grandmother after the family ran out of money to pay the nurse and to finally be passed to his mother and step father when his grandmother became to old to watch him. “Where previous films on similar subjects have fictionalized through adult misconceptions and sentimentality, this is a convincing demonstration from the level of the boy- cool, firm, and realistic, without the false notes of goo” this is said by Bosley Crowther in the review Screen: ‘the 400 Blows’; a Small Masterpiece From France Opens. I find this statement to be true even today when it seems that screen writers and producers and all the people included in movies seem to forget what it was like to be a 12 year old. It seems that I am in almost complete agreement with Crowther for his review and as for that I cant help but to wonder if it comes from my own upbringing and it being closer to Antoine in which it feels as if I was pushed around or neglected, ignored by my mother for her drug of choice and ultimately put into foster care when I was just 12 myself and sometimes wishing that I could be sent to a boot camp or run away as well. I spent many years looking for a freedom that I believed I had wanted when instead it was just a little more law and order that I wanted.
“The boys in this film are not malnourished or materially deprived. They are subject instead, to a constant and soulless regimentation – designed to turn them into model citizens of a society they do not (and have no wish to) understand.” This written by David Melville in Children of the revolution – Truffaut and Les Quatre cents coups. This I believe is not fully true. While the boys had clothes and food that does not mean in fact that they were not abused, we see in the movie Antoine’s father show up in his class and smack him in front of all of his classmates. Now I understand that the 1950’s were very different then times are now and I am a believer that spanking a child is acceptable however I believe that all punishments should be between parents and children only and should never include an audience. These boys are forced to sit and study whatever is placed in front of them with no choice in what they want to do with their lives and as so they fight back from the “typical” way things are done. And as the world has continuously shown it is only through change that we will be able to survive. There will be many times that the choices we make as a society lead us to a future that may be worse then where we start, however that should not mean that we do not keep moving forward and keep trying new things; staying the same and for the purpose of creating model citizens is not reason enough to keep things exactly as they have been.
In the final scene of “The 400 Blows” we see Antoine running on the sand with his feet in the water. this i believe shows his new freedom. While we do not know how long he is away from the camp or what he will do to live we see for just one brief minute that he believes that he will be able to change the world. he ran away from the camp and did not get caught as soon as he left, that i think gives him the hope that he will be able to make it on his own, this shows in fact that he is looking for a future that he can be happy and proud of.
When i see the freedom he has in this final scene it gives me hope, i know that not even 10 years after this movie that Paris goes through so much with the student revolt and it does seem hard to believe that its almost as if Truffaut knew that something was going to happen because it seems to lead our emotions the same way that the student revolution seems to. We are able to look back on these times and know the outcome, however Antoine does not have the same knowledge that we do now and his running away may not lead to the hope and freedom that he so desperately wants.
Children of the Revolution – Truffaut and Les Quatre cents coups
Sonja,
I have never seen this movie but your writing makes me want to watch it. Thank you for sharing your story. It’s very important to talk about these things. I feel that far too often, people don’t look at these movies or stories as something that may actually be another person’s reality. In this case, you felt it was close to your own reality. Movies allow us to indulge in the mile-long walk of someone else’s shoes and I appreciate that about them the most.
I really like the way you describe Antoine feeling freedom. I can almost feel the relief from your description.
While I did not get the chance to watch 400 blows the movie it seems very up lifting. Your own story shows how people can relate to one another through media including movies. I learned how Antoine achieved freedom by getting away from camp. I also appreciate how you’ve included a video clip of the movie directly into your essay and think I will try to include an important clip like that in my next essay.
I saw it this week, too. Like you, I am deeply moved by the great freeze at the end. Before the freeze, the camera fled with Antoine, and after a fade in and out, the camera left Antoine temporarily and began to show the sea. After the roll, he was back on Antoine, and he trotted all the way to the sea. The final freeze and push gives the film a lift, reminding us: “please look at this kid.” So we look and ask ourselves, what do we see? A blank face beneath the sea. Suddenly, combined with the previous story, an unspeakable emotion filled the whole picture. Sadness? Confused? Sad? Hope? Unpredictable, yet obvious. Truffaut ends the film in the most back-to-basics way possible: back to the moment! I thought it was great that you inserted a video clip into the article. I replayed the clip and will try again next time.