"The 400 Blows" (1959)

(Originally released as Les Quatre cents coups)

Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy

First, the Lowdown: The trials of a lower-class boy in France and his fall into delinquency.

I've always liked Truffaut's work. His cinematic style is almost documentary, but never voyeuristic. He engages the audience and nearly forces it to be a witness to whatever is portrayed on the screen.

Jean-Pierre Léaud is Antoine Doinel, a neglected and misunderstood adolescent. (Is there any other kind?) Uninterested in his schoolwork (big surprise) he is perpetually belittled by his headmaster. Home life for Antoine is not exactly ideal as both his mother and stepfather are at a loss as to what to do with him. The family income is pretty limited, so Antoine's clothes (and bed) are in poor condition.

Finally tired of the verbal (and sometimes physical) abuses subjected to him, Antoine skips school at the prodding of his friend René. The next day when he fails to provide an excuse for his absence from his parents, Antoine tells the headmaster that his mother has died. Unfortunately Antoine didn't think of the administration checking up on this news and Antoine is put through the wringer again. Sick and tired of being treated poorly, Antoine decides to run away, only to find out things aren't much better on the outside.

If this film was made in the United States during the late 1950s, it would've been an over-the-top melodrama, with authority figures soapboxing at both Antoine and his parents. Fingers would've wagged, brows would've furrowed, the movie would've been about Antoine's experimentation with drugs and finally climaxed with the murder of a supporting character (by Antoine or someone associated with him.)

Fortunately there's none of that in here. The camera never takes sides, aside from always showing you Antoine's limited frame of reference. And even still, Truffaut allows the camera to admit that Antoine's perspective is fairly narrow. As a focal character, Antoine is incredibly flawed, but never entirely unsympathetic.

Line of the movie: "Sometimes when I tell the truth no one believes me, so I prefer to lie."

Five stars. Not responsible for lost or stolen items.