Review: 400 Blows

François Truffaut's 1959 semi-autobiographical piece regarding indolent youth and the society that generates them is captivating, elegantly conceived, and still feels robust even 50 years after it's conception. Through the film's protagonist Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud), the director shows the multi-faceted nature of adolescence. Whether it is with his camera, in scenes such as the one where Antoine is sitting before 3 different mirrors which all capture different aspects of his physique, or with his direction, in which it seems as though Truffaut's life has been inculcated into the young actor through osmosis, Truffaut displays the complexities of youth in an honest and cogent manner.
As far as education goes, the adults in this story don't seem to be interested in developing nuance, but rather a future race of citizens with the very same set of ideals. Many of the lessons we are shown in the film have to do with the children's memorization and regurgitation of old poems. When this proves futile, the teacher exclaims that France will be in sorry shape in the next ten years. Truffaut shows the damage that this type of education brings by highlighting one child as he fights to write the words down even as the inkwell is leaking onto the pages, defiling his skin, and staining the very nature of who he is.
Caught between an adulterous mother and an apathetic father, Antoine's one saving grace is the cinemas. Truffaut's true love for film comes out in these scenes as he captures the boy's sense of wonder as he marvels at the celluloid before him. Truffaut even includes a scene of Antoine stealing a still of Welles' Citizen Kane. A touching tribute to another young and influential filmmaker.
This being my first film that I have seen of the Nouvelle Vague, I am not yet familiar with all of the visual staples of this movement. Yet, you would have to be visually impaired not to see how beautifully shot this film is. From the tracking shots in the classroom to illuminate the idiosyncrasies of the classroom environment to the POV shots used to show the physical and mental imprisonment of Antoine, Truffaut judiciously uses his camera to expound a particular mood.
While I know that only the further consumption of films from the New Wave will help me to better understand the universal importance of this movement, if the 400 Blows is any indication, I will not be let down.

Film Reviews

I have been taking a stab at film reviews lately. It is just a selfish exercise for me but maybe some of you could find something that you might want to watch out of it. Maybe not, but here it goes.

My first film is Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog


While someone could make the argument that all cinema is poetic in certain ways, no set of films personify cinematic poetry more than the films of Akira Kurosawa. Even in his earlier films such as Stray Dog, he gives the viewer a generous bounty to chew on. Not only is this a noir influence crime drama, but a priceless time capsule of the Japanese experience in the aftermath of a devastating World War. In the vein of Italian Neorealism, Kurosawa captures the essence of everyday life in a land ravaged by war. While the film focuses on Detective Murakami's (Toshiro Mifune) pursuit to find his missing Colt from the criminal Yusa, Kurosawa doesn't give us a cut and dry story of good versus evil. In fact, the story is rather messy. Like the characters in this story, all of Japan is in the grasps of what appears to be bedlam. Filmed in 1949, Japan's black market was still running rampant during this time and the film features a lengthy montage of actual footage of the black market. In a time with such rampant poverty, class disparity, and widespread vice, the film begs the question what constitutes crime when the entire land is beset by turmoil? Kurosawa is constantly blurring the lines between good and bad and in one particularly compelling scene has both the "hero" and "villan" wrestling in some mud and coming out looking nearly identical.
The film also oscillates between rapidly paced scenes with quick edits and long static takes in which Kurosawa really takes his time in telling the story. This can be rather laborious to watch for someone who has grown up on a steady diet of Transformers and Fast and Furious. In many scenes where the action seems to be near a climax, Kurosawa lets his characters light a cigarette in the middle of a pivotal exchange. Tedious as it may seem for some to get through, Kurosawa let's you really revel in the moment. If you take the director up on his invitation rather than throw your hands up in vexation, there is much on screen to reward you.
There are some skillfully choreographed shots that put many modern films to shame. Also, much like his other films Rashomon and Ikiru, he focuses heavily on the weather to symbolize either the beauty or the turbulence that the characters are experiencing internally. These are just a few examples of the many motifs that Kurosawa employs. Although it is one of his earlier pieces, it certainly illuminates Kurosawa's exceptional proficiency in terms of filmmaking.