My Film as Literature Review

Remington
Mrs. Burgess
Enriched English 10
16 October 2007
The 400 Blows Film as Literature Review
The 400 Blows, the story of famous director Francois Truffaut’s life, is a very touching film about an adolescent boy who takes to mischief and rebellion. Francois Truffaut’s childhood is made into a plot that any director could make into an award winning movie. Sadly enough, Antoine, the main character, grew up in a very difficult household with parents that didn’t love him. The film was very interesting, with a great plotline and good actors. The incessant background music, however, is more distracting than effective when listened to for the film’s entire 99 minutes. But overall, the film was effective in getting its point across and giving a preview of life in 1940s France. It also delivered the feelings and emotions that Francois probably felt as a child. The thing that I disliked the most about the film was most definitely the music. The repetitive tune that merely changed pitch throughout was infuriating. That and the film’s seemingly out of place ending truly ruined the film experience for me. Otherwise, I thought that it was very well-made and truly a masterpiece of the time from France.
Literary aspects are constantly present because in essence, they are the movie. In The 400 Blows, the literary aspects are very well done and thus the film benefits. The plot is obvious; a boy named Antoine, who has terrible parents and only one friend, tries to make his life better, but is inhibited by an awfully biased teacher. He gets in huge trouble at school, runs away from home, steals his step-father’s typewriter to sell, but is caught while returning it, and is sent to a detention center from which he runs away. The characters include Antoine Doinel, Gilberte Doinel, Julian Doinel, the teacher, René, and others. The setting is, as far as I can tell, supposed to be in early 1940s Paris, but the Nazis are not occupying it at the moment so maybe I am wrong. It is early fall, and the film takes place over multiple days, maybe even weeks. The theme is apparent; rebellion. Antoine is always trying to find ways in which he can rebel and be a nonconformist. The point of view is how Antoine always has to do what he is told by people that don’t seem to understand his thought process or what he is going through. A symbol throughout seems to be the Michelin guide. It seems to me like it is trying to say why his parents don’t trust him. Antoine stole the Michelin guide and got away with it. I’m positive that his parents know he took it, which is the way with lots of things throughout the film; Antoine’s parents don’t trust him. In summary, the literary aspects of The 400 Blows are very well done and their clarity allows fantastic comprehension.
The dramatic elements of The 400 Blows are mainly actors, lighting, and set design. Makeup is used sparsely, and the costumes are more like everyday clothing. First of all, Jean-Pierre Léaud performs fantastically in his role as Antoine. He is so convincing in his role that I wonder if he is a rebellious child in real life. He was definitely a good choice by Truffaut, and he looks just like a rebellious child in the 1940s would look. Albert Rémi, on the other hand, does a fairly poor job. He played Julian Doinel, a character who almost seemed irrelevant in the film. He appeared to be having trouble playing the part of the nonchalant father. This is because he did not do well playing his part in that he was too happy all of the time, even when things went awry and he sent his son to what is basically prison. He should not have been cast in that role. The final actor/actress that I will evaluate is Claire Maurier. She did, what to me looked like, an astounding job acting the demon mother who was cheating, unloving, and unforgiving of Antoine. She was casted perfectly for the role and performs her role flawlessly. Next, the lighting is very important. It depicts the mood of the film during the times in which it is used. When the lighting is dimmer, Antoine is depressed and lonely, and when the lighting is bright, he is happy and in a fun place. The lighting greatly affects the film in a positive way, and helps people to interpret what is supposed to be happening. Finally, the set design was ingenious to an extent. It is ingenious in that it looks just like Paris would have back then, but the extent is that it was filmed back then and the set is probably just a more residential area of Paris. Awesomely, the set does make the film look like it could be happening in everyday 1940ish Paris. The dramatic aspects of the film are irreplaceable, and the film obviously benefits from them.
Sadly, I thought that the cinematic aspects of the film were merely mediocre. They all seemed to be the same throughout, and never changing; leaving the film with a more repetitive feel than is desired. The photography was okay. The camera was not wavy or anything, but the shots seemed to always be the same. The shots did differ, but merely to show the scenery or an object. Otherwise, it looked to me like all medium shots. The camera angle was at eye level, or maybe slightly higher. Too bad it rarely, if ever, changed. The pan was used more that might have been necessary. Tilts were rare, and the only tracking shot that I recall is at the end during the running scene. The shot durations were varying in length, but the so called “famous shot” at the end of the final scene was oddly uninspiring. I felt as if the film left me hanging (good thing I did some research and found that there are multiple sequels), which affected my thoughts about the film in a negative manner. The cut was the only editing shot used, and it got old fast. Finally, the sound was quite infuriating. The same tune was played over and over again in different pitches and tones. I could not comprehend why, but it was as if that song was stuck in Truffaut’s head and he used it in the film because he could not think of anything else since his head was so clouded. There is voice-over narration when his parents are fighting and he is lying in bed, and the dialogue is pleasant. In conclusion, some cinematic elements are great and others are poor, thus they shall together be labeled as mediocre.
The 400 Blows and Richard Wright’s Black Boy are actually quite similar. First of all, they are both memoirs. They both give a great feel for what it is like to be the main character and go through all of the trials and tribulations that children of that age often suffer through. In addition, they both focus on children that are the same age, at least for a time. Since the characters are both alike in many ways, both have overseers (parents/grandparents and aunts) that hold an iron grip over the household. Both feel the need to work and provide for themselves, and both have few friends at school. They detest spending time at home and they like to travel to their own worlds through the arts, be it film or literature. They are both naïve in that they don’t understand the ways in which the world operates, race issues or the importance of schooling. Finally, Richard and Antoine are both incredibly rebellious. They decide what they want to do and when to do it. Richard is free to do whatever he wants most of the time, while Antoine often skips class and runs away from home. Richard and Antoine are reasonably similar, but not so much as to be twins.
This film was very thought provoking and for those who enjoy foreign language films and reading subtitles for an hour and thirty-nine minutes, I would recommend it. Also, you must have a high tolerance for annoying music. I do not believe that the way in which we watched it truly showed how the film comes together in its full form. I think that if it were watched all at once, that the repetitive music and the subtitles would decrease one’s interest in the film. For the most part, I think that I would recommend this film for people to watch on TV; it is worth your time because of the interesting plot and great acting by some of the actors/actresses. But, I do not think that it is worth your money. If you do not find it on TV, then don’t rush to the video store to waste your money on a French film that came out fifty years ago. In conclusion, I would recommend others interested in foreign films to keep an eye open for it on television, but not to hurry and rent or buy it at a video store.