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"The 400 Blows," ("Les Quatre-Cent Coups," 1959) - Semi-Autobiographical Drama Written and Directed by François Truffaut as his Debut Film


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This debut film by director François Truffaut is a delight to watch. Well acted and beautifully shot, this filmed charmed and moved me.

Semi-autobiographical, Truffaut tells the story of a mischievous French teen. Obviously bright, but not given the proper guidance at home, his misbehavior escalates. Jean-Pierre Léaud, only 14 at the time, is wonderful in the role of Antoine Doinel. The other teen actors are very good as well, and Albert Remy and Claire Maurier are perfect as Antoine's inept parents.

Truffaut was only 27 when he directed this film. "The 400 Blows" is regarded as one of his finest, and is considered one of the earliest works of the French New Wave.

I love quiet, beautifully made films like "The 400 Blows," a character-driven look at a troubled boy looking for his place in the world.

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<<Faire les quatre-cent coups>> (*) is an idiom that means "to make mischief," or "to be up to no good" (picture boys with slingshots, pelting passing automobiles).

This film was dedicated to famed Director André Bazin, who rescued Truffaut from a similar situation as Antoine Doinel lived in the The 400 Blows (and who had died *one day* after Truffaut began shooting the film).

The final still of Antoine will be forever etched into your memory.

(*) The link will tell you, in French, the etymology of the term: It stems from the Catholic Louis XIII who launched 400 cannon shots against the Protestant Hugenots during the Siege of Montauban.

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